Masai Ujiri said earlier this year he had no doubt the Raptors would land an impact Canadian during his tenure as general manager, but citizenship is far from the only reason Cory Joseph becomes that guy.

Joseph, the Pickering, Ont., native and national team starting point guard, verbally agreed to a four-year deal worth $30 million US. ESPN reported the final year will be a player option and Joseph confirmed the news by tweeting: “#WeTheNorth here I come!”

Free-agent center Bismack Biyombo has agreed to a two-year, $6 million contract with the Toronto Raptors, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Biyombo joins forward DeMarre Carroll as the second free agent to agree to a deal with the Raptors this week. Together, Biyombo and Carroll – who agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal – are expected to play a part in reshaping the Raptors’ defense next season.

In a minor deal Thursday night, the Toronto Raptors dealt guard Greivis Vasquez to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for the draft rights to Norman Powell, the 46th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, plus a protected 2017 first round pick that originally belonged to the LA Clippers.

The Bucks selected guard Rashad Vaughn with the 17th pick in the Draft.

From the press release:

Vasquez joins the Bucks after averaging 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in a career-high 82 games (28 starts) for the Toronto Raptors in 2014-15. Last season, he hit a single-season career-high 133 3-pointers, which is 24 more than his previous best for a season, while connecting on a career-best 37.9 percent of his attempts from three. The 6-foot-6-inch guard owns career averages of 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 375 games (157 starts) in five seasons with Memphis, New Orleans, Sacramento and Toronto. His best statistical season came in 2012-13 when he averaged 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists in 78 games (78 starts) for New Orleans. His 704 total assists that year ranked first in the NBA, and his assists average of 9.0 ranked third in the league. Vasquez earned his only Player of the Week honor when he was awarded the accolade for the Western Conference for the week of Dec. 30, 2012.

The Venezuelan-born player was selected with the 28th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He is the first of his nationality to be drafted into the NBA, and only the third Venezuelan citizen to ever play in the NBA. Vasquez attended Maryland and played four years for the Terrapins. In 2010, he earned the Sportsman of the Year Award from the Greater Washington Sports Alliance.

The logo’s design pays tribute to T-Dot’s iconic CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere and the crown jewel of the city’s skyline.

From the press release:

The announcement was made earlier today at the CN Tower by Toronto Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, Toronto Tourism Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Weir, NBA Canada Vice President and Managing Director Dan MacKenzie, CN Tower Chief Operating Officer Jack Robinson, and 2014-15 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins, the first Canadian-born player to win Rookie of the Year. The 65th NBA All-Star Game tips off on Sunday, Feb. 14, at Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Raptors.

NBA All-Star 2016 will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of basketball. Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian, invented the game in 1891, beginning the nation’s rich history with the sport. Toronto also hosted the first game in NBA history on Nov. 1, 1946, at Maple Leaf Gardens.

The logo, designed in collaboration with the Raptors, integrates the CN Tower silhouette with the team’s red, white and black colors. Additional secondary logos include a signature NBA “star” logo inside a dynamic maple leaf and an All-Star toque logo, featuring a clawed star, which pays tribute to the popular accessory worn during Canada’s winter months.

The Toronto Raptors will have a slightly new look on-court next season, according to a report from ESPN. Part of that new look includes what the team is calling a “Drake” Alternate, with gold trim (see above). The Raptors are really going all in with Drizzy and OVO, it looks like.

Is this a good look, or is this whack? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

After the game, the players in the locker room were relatively subdued. They were moving on but hardly satisfied. The only mild form of bravado could be found against one of the cherry wood cabinets adjacent to the stalls, where a dingy broom rested, signifying the accomplishment. […] “Do I get anything for that?” Coach Randy Wittman joked, when asked about accomplishing a franchise first. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t know if anybody really picked us to beat Toronto in this series especially without home-court advantage. So to go out there and not only be the underdog, but to sweep them I think it does send a message that, ‘Hey you can’t take Washington lightly,’ ” Pierce said. “We didn’t show the weaknesses that we showed during the regular season and that’s a good sign. This is a great time to be playing our best basketball and if we can continue to play like this we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

As Wittman said after the win, the Wizards have no interest in looking back. Not only have they found themselves at the right time, but the landscape in the Eastern Conference has shifted, providing more hope about what they can accomplish. […] “We want to get to the Eastern Conference finals,” (John) Wall said.

The Washington Wizards grabbed a 2-0 series stranglehold against the Toronto Raptors after Bradley Beal pumped in 28 points in a 117-106 Game 2 road win Tuesday night—John Wall also chipped in 26 points and 17 assists.

Beal made it clear to everyone that his squad isn’t made up of “punks.”

“We have to play with passion,” (Greivis) Vasquez said. “We have to play like we love the game. … We’ve done it before. It’s playoff time. Playoffs mean you have to play with everything you got. I don’t think we did.”

Most disturbingly, Kyle Lowry remains flat, shooting 3-for-10 from the floor. One fourth-quarter spin move resulted in a travelling call; he attempted a runner on another foray into the paint, the same one that he hit over Kevin Garnett in Game 4 last year, and it was blocked. He limped to the locker room with five minutes to go in the game, and was diagnosed with a left shin contusion. He said he would be fine to play in Friday’s Game 3.

“I’d say I feel shittty right now,” Lowry said. “I’m not getting clean looks right now and I even missed a couple of free throws. I can’t dictate my game on just offence, I can’t even stay on the floor. I need to find a way to stay on the floor.”

Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri has been fined $35,000 for using obscene language in a public setting on Saturday, April 18 prior to the Raptors’ playoff game against the Washington Wizards, it was announced Sunday by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

In addition, the Toronto Raptors organization has been fined $25,000.

Ujiri used an expletive when addressing fans prior to Saturday’s tipoff against Washington. […] “People want me to say something about Paul Pierce but, we don’t give a (expletive) about ‘it’,” Ujiri told a cheering crowd outside the Air Canada Centre in an area dubbed Jurassic Park.

“I don’t mind playing the role of underdog, villain or whatever you want to call it. I was just trying to help my team win, try to give us a mental edge,” Pierce said. “If that’s the role I’m going to play, I just got to embrace it. It’s not that I’m a bad guy. Everybody knows I’m a good guy. I mean, off the court.”

The (Pierce) comment — which came about eight days before the Wizards’ first-round opponent was set — elicited an angry response from Raptors forward DeMar DeRozan (“I hope I see Paul Pierce”) and a hilarious response from reserve Amir Johnson, who said it was like an “older guy” using Viagra to get himself going.

“Typical Uri,” Pierce said, severely butchering a name he has no interest in learning. “I heard what he said last year when I was in Brooklyn. I can really care less. I think I can play the psychological war a little bit better than him.”

“We haven’t done particularly well against Toronto, but I don’t feel they have the ‘it’ that makes you worried,” Pierce told ESPN earlier this week. “There isn’t a team I look at in the Eastern Conference that makes me say, ‘They are intimidating, we don’t have a chance.'”

DeRozan thinks Pierce and the Wizards may live to regret their bravado—Toronto won all three regular season matchups against Washington.

Per the Toronto Sun and National Post:

After Toronto beat Charlotte, but before Chicago rallied to defeat Atlanta, guaranteeing a Raptors-Wizards matchup, DeRozan said Pierce should be careful what he wishes for. […] “I don’t know, Paul Pierce has always gotta say something,” DeRozan said in a happy Raptors locker room. “Just let him talk. I could care less what he says. He’d just better hope Chicago wins (against Atlanta) or whatever has got to happen so he won’t see what ‘it’ is.”

But it was clear that DeRozan actually cared quite a bit. As he prepared to leave the locker room, he was shown by a member of the media an update score, showing Atlanta in front of Chicago a bit, meaning a matchup with Milwaukee seemed on tap, instead of a date with Pierce and the Wizards. […] DeRozan looked visibly irritated by that development and muttered: “Sh–, I hope I see Paul Pierce,” as he exited.

“Whatever he means about what ‘it’ is, you’ll have to ask him when you see him or text him or Instagram,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said with a laugh.

The Celtics clinched the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round playoff series with the No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to the win. It’s hard to not look ahead, but the coach is trying his best to combat human nature.

“Obviously there are going to be distractions as we move forward,” Stevens said, “so every night there’s going to be distractions and that can’t be an excuse for playing well and playing together and gutting it out. Our guys are excited to play. To have a chance to play against the very best in the league is a great opportunity. […] With me it’s about how we achieved this small thing in the big picture of progress, but it’s progress. The next couple of weeks there will be distractions. The next few years.”

According to stat guru Dick Lipe, the Celtics have led all Eastern Conference teams since Feb. 3 with an 18-6 record against conference competition — better, even, than what Cleveland has accomplished. Then there’s the overall 19-11 record since the Feb. 19 trade deadline. […] “I’m ready to go to war with these guys — I’m ready to go to war,” Crowder said.

DeMar DeRozan is a Compton, CA, kid through and through, one whose game blossomed on the city parks, gymnasiums and streets of Los Angeles. In 2009, the Toronto Raptors drafted him with the ninth pick in the NBA Draft after one season at the University of Southern California. Until that point, the 6-6 DeRozan, who gets “Comp10” customized inside each pair of his sneakers, had never lived beyond a 30-minute radius of his parents’ home. Moving north of the border, and thousands of miles away, he continued to develop his game and became an NBA All-Star five years later. Here, he speaks on the journey:

SLAM: How did you fall in love with the game?

DeMar DeRozan: I fell in love with the game just by watching my dad play sports, and I was always watching sports. I think it’s like a manly thing, watching whatever your father did at a young age and I just took heed to that, and as I got older and just playing around and him pushing me with every sport. But I think I found passion in basketball at an early age. I grew up watching the Lakers and Bulls, I think it all stemmed from that.

SLAM: How old were you?

DD: I think I started playing organized basketball when I was 5 or 6. From then on out I just really kept at it, it was fun. As a kid you’re playing for fun, from playing video games, watching your favorite players play and trying to reenact what they do on Fisher Price courts and everything like that and it just grew from then on out.

SLAM: What were some of your favorite courts as a kid growing up?

DD: I probably played at every park in Compton, honestly. I don’t really have a favorite one, but every park in the city of Compton I played in. I played in the leagues and was a part of youth teams, too, California Team Select, South Coast All-Stars, there were a few teams that I came up with, played with a lot of great players and to just see how far I came from then is just amazing.

SLAM: Do you remember playing in your very first organized game?

DD: I just remember that I was terrible. I was sorry, I was throwing the ball out of bounds, running toward the wrong side of the court, I just remember being terrible!

SLAM: Do you remember the point where you realized that basketball was something you enjoyed or wanted to keep playing?

DD: I think that came later on when I really understood the game of basketball, probably when I was 12 years old, 13. You really just see the development of the game coming along, becoming older, more athletic and more skilled. I think that’s when I really started realizing this could be something.

SLAM: Do you remember watching any special games as a kid on TV? Do any stand out to you?

DD: For some reason I always used to see the east coast games, like all the ACC games. On the weekends you wake up California time at 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock in the morning, the games would be on and you tend to watch the games and you really didn’t know what was going on, but you knew it was basketball. I remember when I was real young, I always used to wonder why they didn’t have their name on the back of their jerseys. Little stuff like that, but I always used to watch it, pay attention to all of it, and once they got to the pros, I remembered the certain players and the colleges they went to and everything.

SLAM: Do you remember your first basketball?

DD: I’m not sure. My dad had to give me a lot of basketballs when I was young, and we always used to go to the park and play. He always used to beat me, I mean, always used to beat me, and when I lost, I would be mad and kick the ball as hard as I could after every single game. He never wanted to go get it, and I never wanted to go get it, so I used to get a new ball every week.

Duane Watson is a SLAM contributor. Follow him on Twitter @DuaneWatson.

The Hornets entered this game going 3-9 in their last 12 games. But by blowing out a tired Pistons teams, Charlotte remained right in the thick of the hunt for the final playoff spot. Marvin Williams (18 points, 6 rebounds, 3-6 on 3-pointers) and Kemba Walker (17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) led a balanced attack as six players reached double digits. The Pistons, on the other hand, only had three players in double figures. As great as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (2 points, 1-6 from the field) has been at times this year, he will sporadically have one of these type of games, where nothing is clicking for him and he can’t even get 15 minutes of playing time. When you add the fact that Reggie Jackson (9 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) turned the ball over there times and was blocked five times as well, it’s going to difficult to score on the Hornets. The saddest part of this game was watching Al Jefferson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) try to move. Even though Big Al isn’t a freak athlete when fully healthy, you can just tell something is off. He can barely move and is fighting through the pain. With the win, Charlotte two games back of the Nets for the No. 8 seed.

Spurs 103 (49-26), Magic 91 (22-53)

The Spurs are going to the playoffs for the 18th consecutive season after blowing out the Magic Wednesday night. This team is healthy, balanced and ready to legitimately defend their title once the playoffs begin in a few weeks. Different guys step up every night, forcing opposing defenses to pick their poison in first, second and even third units. In their double-digit victory against the Magic, Kawhi Leonard (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) was the only starter than even had more than eight points while the Magic had four started with at least 14 points. Victor Oladipo (24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) was exceptionally good late in the second quarter and towards the end of the game. However, San Antonio’s bench destroyed Orlando’s by outscoring them 69-12. Aron Baynes (18 points, 5 rebounds, 8-8 on free throws) showed his soft touch in the paint and Manu Ginobili (13 points, 3-5 on 3-pointers) remained the offensive constant in the second unit. Boris Diaw (11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, +37) also played very well in many lineups, making those around him better simply by being on the court. The Spurs also played disciplined perimeter defense by holding the Magic to 5-17 (29.4 percent) shooting on 3-pointers and only fouling them nine times on the night. This forced Orlando to only make nine trips as a team to the line, while the Spurs went 23 times. The Spurs have now gone 15-3 on their last 18 games and don’t seem to be finished moving up the ladder as the No. 6 seed. They only trail the fifth-seeded Clippers by half a game.

Wizards 106 (42-33), 76ers 93 (18-58)

The Wizards entered this game losers of five of their last six and in desperate need of a win to revitalize a struggling group of players. John Wall (13 points, 15 assists) and Marcin Gortat (23 points, 14 assists, 2 blocks) put on a show with two strong double-doubles and one of their best combined games in quite some time. And with Bradley Beal (20 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 9-18 from the field) finding his touch from two-point range and Otto Porter Jr. (15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) filling in exceptionally well for Paul Pierce in the starting lineup, the scrappy Sixers couldn’t only keep up with them for so long. This game was actually much worse than the final score shows as Washington actually led 91-57 with a minute left in the third during its wire-ti-wire victory. Bench players Isaiah Canaan (18 points, 6 assists, 4-9 on 3-pointers) and Hollis Thompson (16 points, 4-8 on 3-pointers) nailed some 3-pointers in garbage time late in the game when they never had a chance of making a full comeback. Ish Smith (23 points, 11-17 from the field) had an efficient and strong offensive performance in the loss, but only had 21 points of support from the rest of his starters. The Wizards also shot a blistering 57.9 percent from the field while the Sixers could only shoot 39.6 percent. Even though Washington only made eight more shots than Philly, they took 15 less shots. The Wizards also outrebounded the Sixers 47-34.

Celtics 100 (34-41), Pacers 87 (32-43)

Kelly Olynyk (19 points, 7-10 from the field) could barely even open his left eye for most of this game. The Celtics big man took an elbow from teammate Shavlik Randolph when playing one-on-one before the game. But he got his four stitches and came through when his team needed him most, keeping the Celticshalf a game out of the final playoff spot in the East. The Celtics built up an early 59-41 lead a few minutes into the third quarter before George Hill (21 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds) brought his Pacers back and made it only a 68-62 deficit going into the final quarter. Olynyk and Jae Crowder (13 points, 4 rebounds) responded by scoring the team’s first 13 points of the fourth and helping push the lead to 13 points midway through the quarter. The Celtics wouldn’t give up the lead the rest of the way. Tyler Zeller (19 points, 8-9 from the field) finished with a solid line in only 23 minutes of play while Evan Turner (13 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) continued to show his newfound versatility with another triple-double. When Turner flopped after being traded from the Sixers to the Pacers, it seemed like he was simply a washed-up player who only put up big numbers because he was on a bad team. Even though the Celtics aren’t necessarily at the top of the East, he’s still contributing in a lot of different ways for a team making a late-season push for a playoff spot.

Nets 100 (34-40), Knicks 98 (14-61)

The Nets found a way to sneak by their in-state rival in the Knicks thanks to Deron Williams (26 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, +20) revitalized night and Brook Lopez’s (18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks) late-game tip. Williams looked like his former self Wednesday night, breaking out a killer crossover, knocking down jumpers from all over the court and finding his teammates in the right spots. His biggest shot of the game, though, was one of his 10 misses. After Cleanthony Early (14 points, 6 rebounds) knocked down a clutch game-tying 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining in the game, the game was knotted at 98-98. After Williams missed a jumper with 4.2 seconds left, Lopez skied for the offensive rebound, missed his first tip-in attempt and then grabbed another offense rebound as he putback his own miss with only two seconds left on the clock. Every game is important at the bottom of the East, and the Nets would have been upset with themselves if they allowed Andrea Bargnani (22 points, 5 rebounds) and the Knicks to upset them at Madison Square Garden. With the win, the Nets have now gone 9-2 in their last 11 games…after a five-game losing streak right before that. They will need to do everything to avoid that kind of losing streak down the stretch.

Rockets 115 (51-24), Kings 111 (26-48)

James Harden (career-high 51 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 8-9 on 3-pointers) poured in 51 points to help the Rockets secure their 51st win of the season and remain tied with the Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed. To put it simply, Harden was absurd Wednesday night. The shooting guard couldn’t be stopped on his way to becoming the first player in Rockets history to post two 50-point games in the same season. He used a balance of footwork, strength and ballhandling to get exactly where he wants on the court. He relentlessly pounded the ball to the rack and made it to the line 13 times in the process. He has carried this team with Dwight Howard struggling to make his way onto the court due to injuries. Even though this game was all about the Beard, DeMarcus Cousins (24 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals) countered Harden’s performance with a dazzling display of his own in recording his second career triple-double. He came four blocks away from a quadruple-double while snagging three steals as well. Boogie has really grown this season both on and off the court, becoming an absolute force in the paint. With no Dwight Howard, Joey Dorsey (7 points, 11 rebounds) and Terrence Jones (16 points, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks) could only hope their team scored more points than the Kings with the way Cousins was controlling all aspects of Sacramento’s offense. But with Harden in command and Trevor Ariza (22 points, 6-14 from the field) knocking down shots from deep, the Rockets built up a late eight-point lead that the Kings couldn’t come back from.

Bucks 95 (37-38), Bulls 91 (45-30)

The Bucks snapped the Bulls’ three-game winning streak and looked more like the team that was seven games above .500 going into the All-Star Break. Michael Carter-Williams (21 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds) has had a tough time finding his place on this Milwaukee team, getting inconsistent minutes to go along with his inconsistent play. Wednesday night, this wasn’t the case as MCW came up with a big jumper and layup down the stretch in playing 33 minutes. Fellow starters Ersan Ilyasova (16 points, 3-7 on 3-pointers) and Khris Middleton (14 points) provided some offensive support while O.J. Mayo (13 points, 3-5 on 3-pointers) came through with two crucial assists to Middleton midway through the fourth. As great as the Bulls have looked this season, they seem to put up duds like this every now and then. Jimmy Butler (25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) remains aggressive most of the night on his way to an 8-8 shooting night on free throws, but Chicago still only managed to shoot 5-26 (19.2 percent) on 3-pointers and 24-37 (64.9 percent) on free throws. For a team striving to go deep into the playoffs, the Bulls simply can’t have games when they jack up 3-pointers and miss their freebies. They will need to hope this was simply a one-game shooting slump for versatile big man Nikola Mirotic (6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 3-1o from the field), who missed all five of his attempts from deep.

Raptors 113 (45-30), Timberwolves 99 (16-59)

The Raptors came through with a monumental win against the Rockets Monday night and seem to have kept the momentum going in a blowout with against the Timberwolves. This team that has struggled to get quality play from multiple positions this season showed great balance from their starters and bench players as they used quick ball movement to get everyone involved. Seven players finished in double figures with Lou Williams leading the way. Through the ups and down of their inconsistent season, Toronto’s sixth man in Lou Williams (18 points, 3-9 on 3-pointers, +25) has been one of the most consistent forces on the entire team. Whether Kyle Lowry or Greivis Vasquez (14 points, 4-5 on 3-pointers, +26) is starting, he balanced both of them well with his fast-paced style of play. Tyler Hansbrough (10 points, 11 rebounds) also came through off the Raptors bench with his first double-digit rebounding performance of the season. This was a collective effort in taking down Andrew Wiggins (25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Zach LaVine (22 points, 7 rebounds) and the inexperienced Wolves. These two rookies continue to show raw talent and give Minnesota fans hope for the future. The Raptors, though, were too much to handle as they built up a 31-point lead and cruised to a victory the rest of the way.

Mavericks 135 (46-39), Thunder 131 (42-33)

We all must have missed the memo in this one, but apparently the Mavs and Thunder teamed up Wednesday night to not play any defense for an entire basketball game. The Mavs shot 61.5 percent from the field for the game, which is the highest percentage OKC has allowed on the year. As great as some of these offensive performances were, there was no resistance on the perimeter by either team while Dallas scored 72 points in the paint. Let me repeat that: Dallas scored 72 points in the paint. This game was entertaining to say the least as Monta Ellis (26 points, 5 assists, 4 steals) and Chandler Parsons (22 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 10-15 from the field) provided just enough down the stretch to withstand Russell Westbrook’s (31 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds) 10th triple-double of the year. It’s gotten to the point where a triple-double simply seems to be the standard for this freak athlete point guard. He may still take a lot of shots, but he does so many other good things while on the court. He certainly didn’t do it alone Wednesday as Anthony Morrow (32 points, 6-9 on 3-pointers) was stroking it from deep while Enes Kanter (30 points, 16 rebounds) scored 30 points on a ridiculously efficient 13 shots. The Thunder became the first team to lose a game with three players reaching the 30-point plateau since Portland lost to Phoenix in four overtimes in 1997. They couldn’t pull it out because of late-game shots from Ellis and Parsons, who accounted for 18 of the Mavs’ final 20 points. Parson specifically used good footwork to step back for a turnaround jumper that extended Dallas’ lead from 132-131 to three points. Ellis would make one free throw with 2.4 seconds left to snatch the high-scoring victory. This is a huge road victory for Dallas as they now are ahead of the eighth-seeded Thunder by four games rather than two. Dirk Nowitzki (18 points, 2-5 on 3-pointers) added another milestone to his illustrious career as he became the seventh player in NBA history to score 28,000 career points. Even though he has slowed down a step this season, the Mavericks won’t realize just how much the Big German will be missed by their franchise until he actually retires.

Jazz 98 (34-41), Nuggets 84 (28-47)

In the one game on the night without a playoff team or contender, the Jazz reestablished themselves as one of the best defensive teams in the entire League because of budding big man Rudy Gobert (career-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks). When you watch the Stifle Tower play, it is surprising to think it took Utah this long to ship out Enes Kanter and give the 7-foot-1 Frenchman the opportunity to shine. He showed a different level of offensive abilities against the undersized Nuggets frontline by using sold footwork and soft touch down low. However, his team struggled defensively out of the gate as the Jazz allowed Kenneth Faried (19 points, 10 rebounds) and the Nuggets to score 29 points in the first quarter. This is a Utah team that only allowed 29 points in the opening quarter once–once–in March. In the second quarter, Trey Burke (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) brought some fight off the bench as his team went on a 30-9 run to put this game well out of reach. Similar to the Grizzlies, when the Jazz get up by a large enough amount, it is difficult for opponents to find enough scoring to make a comeback.

Clippers 126 (50-26), Blazers 122 (48-26)

The Clippers bounced back from Tuesday’s loss to the Warriors, overcame a 19-point deficit, watched their starting All-Star point guard bolster his MVP case and notched their 50th win of the season all in the same game. Chris Paul (season-high 41 points, 17 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover) put on one of the best displays of pure point guard play this season. He made shot after shot while finding all of his teammates from every spot on the floor. The Blazers were simply forced to pick their poison as the game moved on. Cp3 and Blake Griffin (24 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) have established one of the most dangerous pick-and-rolls in the game, especially with Griffin’s rapidly developing passing ability. The Clippers’ second-half rally all came due to a shove from none other than Chris Kaman (8 points, 7 rebounds). With 25.7 seconds remaining in the third, CP3 grabbed a rebound of a missed tip shot from Kaman. Portland’s grizzled center decided to shove the pesky point guard, ensuing these two teams to get in a scuffle. At the time, Portland held a nine-point lead Just five minutes into the fourth quarter, L.A. had taken over the lead and would used back-to-back treys by Griffin and J.J. Redick (25 points, 8 rebounds, 5-9 on 3-pointers) to extend the lead to 106-100. The Clips led 114-103 with 3:04 to go and almost allowed LaMarcus Aldridge (29 points, 6 rebounds) to will his team back into this game. After two Aldridge free throws, Portland only trailed 122-119 with 19.5 seconds to go. Chris Paul, though, would calmly knock down four straight free throws to finish off his dominating night with a victory. Even though James Harden and Stephen Curry clearly have a legitimate case to make for the MVP, CP3 deserves some recognition for successfully running one of the best offenses in the entire league.

Pelicans 113 (40-34), Lakers 92 (20-54)

Anthony Davis (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks) just can’t stop growing. The Pelicans big man put up another strong performance as his Pelicans cruised by the lowly Lakers. Even though his 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks has been a regular stat line this season, the Brow has suddenly become a legitimate distributor of late. Davis now has dished out five or more assists in six of his last nine games—something he hadn’t accomplished in a single games prior to March 9. He seems to show a new skill set every single time he steps on the floor, which is a bad omen for the rest of the League. Davis had more room to work Wednesday night thanks to the return of Ryan Anderson (17 points, 2-4 on 3-pointers), who has been sidelined since February 21. The stretch four scored 17 points in 22 minutes, providing the perfect balance with Davis and Omer Asik (8 points, 10 rebounds) down low. Guards Norris Cole (17 points), Tyreke Evans (16 points, 8 assists), Eric Gordon (10 points, 5 assists) and Quincey Pondexter (10 points, 4-5 from the field) all played well against the young Lakers guards. Coming off his game-winning shot against the Sixers, Jordan Clarkson (18 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 7-9 from the field) claimed his second consecutive double-double. He is quickly growing into a possible point guard for L.A.’s future. The Lakers, though, simply couldn’t make enough shots to keep up with New Orleans’ hot shooting. While the Pelicans shot 56.4 percent from the field, the Lakers only managed to shoot 44.6 percent.

“I thought the entire team was ready and more focused,’’ said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “We had a good defensive practice (Sunday). Again, our whole theme from here on out, not only this game (versus Houston) but Wednesday night (in Minneapolis) and the rest of the way is going to be defence. We’re going to score enough points, we’re going to find ways to score, so we’re going to have a defensive focus.”

“I just want to go out there and win,’’ said DeRozan. “The crowd was into it and the last time we played these guys they got us pretty good. We are really just trying to go out there and be ourselves and understand that we can use these next few games to get ready for the playoffs.”

The matchup with Harden was something worth relishing. […] “It’s definitely cool because we have been playing against each other since we were kids,’’ added DeRozan. “He’s one of my close friends in the league to this day. I’m close with his family and he’s close with my family, so it’s always cool knowing we can cherish this 20 years, 30 years from now.”

From the season opener to now, the Celtics look like a completely different team as the majority of their original roster has been traded away. However, one of the team’s constants in Avery Bradley (30 points, 8 rebounds, 12-23 from the field) came through in a major way to keep Boston right in the thick of the playoff race. The Celtics guard had a solid game on both ends of the floor, really being a pest in multiple ways for Kemba Walker (28 points, 12 assists, 9-20 from the field) and Gerald Henderson (17 points, 6 fouls). Bradlet got plenty of help on the offensive end of the floor as six Celtics players reached double figures. Boston has plenty of flaws as this team is still eight games under .500, but since Isaiah Thomas (10 points, 7 assists) joined the roster, they have had quality balance almost every night. Evan Turner (15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-11 from the field) has become the team’s most versatile player, fitting in many different lineups. Gerald Wallace (4 points, 5 rebounds) even showed a flash of his younger self against his former team. Monday against the Hornets, the Celtics shot the ball efficiently, quickly moved the ball from one side of the court to the other and kept their turnovers down. That is enough of a recipe to sneak into the playoffs in the East.

Lakers 113 (20-53), 76ers 111 (18-57) OT

At this point in the season, both these (tanking) teams are looking to build their young players and build some sort of momentum going into next season. For the Lakers, Jordan Clarkson (26 points, 11 assists, 3 steals) continued to be that momentum in a big way Monday night. With the game tied 111-111 in overtime after budding rookie center Nerlens Noel (19 points, 14 rebounds) scored seven straight points for Philly, the former Mizzou Tiger in Clarkson snuck backdoor, received a pass from Wayne Ellington (20 points, 4-6 on 3-pointers) and lofted in the game-winning basket with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Clarkson started this season as a backup point guard who would have to earn his way onto the court. He has certainly done that of late and has also taken ownership of L.A.’s offense. His former college teammate in Jabari Brown (career-high 22 points, 7-10 from the field, 3-4 on 3-pointers) got in on the action and reached the 20-point plateau himself with three treys. Even though Brown still has to show he can perform at this level for more than one game and Clarkson has a long way to go until he can be considered a legitimate starting point guard in the NBA, these two put on a show for one night in a down-to-the-wire overtime victory.

Hawks 101 (56-18), Bucks 88 (36-38)

The Hawks entered this game losers of four of their last six. However, they vamped up perimeter defense and handed the Bucks yet another loss as they continue to wade in mediocrity. This team had so much going for them when Brandon Knight was still on the squad. Since the the departure of Knight and acquisition of Michael Carter-Williams (4 points, 5 assists, 4 turnovers), Milwaukee can’t seem to find its identity and is falling dangerously close to the No. 7 seed if things continue to decline. The Hawks, though, received some big games from “Junkyard Dog” DeMarre Carroll (23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) and sharpshooter Kyle Korver (11 points, 5 assists, 3-9 on 3-pointers). Korver drilled four deep shots on four consecutive possessions in the third quarter. He had 11 points in 65 seconds, to be exact. These two wingmen have great balance in the starting lineup, bring a lot of different qualities on both ends of the court. Al Horford (18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Paul Millsap (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) have also established great chemistry and showed it Monday night. During Milwaukee’s recent struggles, Zaza Pachulia (17 points, 13 rebounds) has quietly been putting up quality double-double numbers and been a force down low. The Bucks simply have lost their defensive intensity, giving up at least 100 points in six of their past seven games.

Raptors 99 (44-30), Rockets 96 (50-24)

The Raptors entered Monday’s game on the verge of going into the playoffs on a very bad note. If they had lost to the Rockets, they would have begun the postseason on April 18 without a win against a winning team since February 20. That will not be the case because DeMar DeRozan (42 points, 11 rebounds, 14-27 from the field) decided to unleash the best game of his career in a entertaining duel between the former USC Trojan and MVP candidate James Harden (31 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds). These two shooting guards—who both grew up in the Los Angeles area—went back-and-forth all night and gave Raptors fans at Air Canada Centre a great show. DeRozan, though, elevated his play with 6:09 left in the fourth quarter. With the game knotted at 85-85 with neither team leading by more than four points up to that point in the quarter, DeRozan scored 10 of his team’s final 14 points, including a go-ahead bank shot with just over a minute remaining and a pull-up jumper with 18.8 seconds left to seal the victory. Before DeRozan went into take-over mode, Jonas Valanciunas (15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Lou Williams (13 points, 5 assists, 3-6 on 3-pointers) provided just enough offensive support to help keep Toronto in this game. Valanciunas set the tone early on the defensive end of the floor by blocking two shots less than four minutes after the tipoff. Amir Johnson (8 points, 16 rebounds) snatched 16 boards and was a key factor in the Raptors outrebounding the Rockets 48-41. With the win, the fourth-seeded Raptors suddenly have some life in their play and might have the edge (for now) over the struggling fifth-seeded Wizards. Toronto also only trails the three-seeded Bulls by one game.

Grizzlies 97 (51-24), Kings 83 (26-47)

The Grizzlies broke their three-game losing streak and took back the No. 2 seed in the West thanks to strong play from Mike Conley (18 points) and Jeff Green (16 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds) along with a ripped jersey from Marc Gasol (8 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals). Memphis quickly jumped out to a 16-5 lead within the first six minutes and wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the game. With DeMarcus Cousins getting the night off, Rudy Gay (24 points, 10-18 from the field) attempted to carry the entire offense and brought the Kings back at certain points. However, the Grizzlies’ stout defense was too much for the undermanned Kings to (attempt to) attack for a full 48 minutes. Sacramento only scored 19 points in the final quarter. Zach Randolph (15 points, 7 rebounds) contributed 15 points and Kosta Koufos (8 points, season-high 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) helped Memphis swat a season-high 11 blocks, which was one of the key difference-makers Monday night.

Jazz 104 (33-41), Timberwolves 84 (16-58)

Gordon Hayward (22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals), Trey Burke (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Trevor Booker (17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) led the way offensively in Utah’s 20-point blowout over the Timberwolves. Zach LaVine (21 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) led Minnesota in scoring and showed some promise during stretches. However, the story of this game has to be the battle that ensued between Andrew Wiggins’ (17 points, 5 rebounds) hops and Rudy Gobert’s (15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) absurd reach in the second quarter. At the 8:48 mark in the first, Wiggins started things off with a power dunk on Gobert. Then in the second with 4:52 left before halftime, Wiggins challenged the Stifle Tower again and finished another hammer slam against the blocking machine. This time, the Rookie of the Year candidate finished the dunk with a roar to his crowd. But just 34 seconds later, on Wiggins’ third attempt at posterizing Gobert, the Jazz big man stuffed Wiggins and gave his own howl after the rejection. These two made an otherwise insignificant matchup turn into a wildly entertaining affair for a short period. While the Jazz managed to shoot 47.6 percent from the field, the Timberwolves only shot 36.8 percent.

Blazers 109 (48-25), Suns 86 (38-37)

Damian Lillard (19 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds), LaMarcus Aldridge (17 points, 7 rebounds) and the Blazers clinched a playoff spot Monday night by copying the Warriors’ third-quarter mastery. After Portland built up an early 53-37 lead with 3:34 to go before halftime, Marcus Morris (11 points, 5-8 from the field) converted an alley-oop, slammed one home and made a layup as his Suns went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to six points at the half. Even though Phoenix seemed to have the momentum going into the third quarter, Lillard and Aldridge came out on a mission to put away the Suns for good…and they did just that. Behind 18 third-quarter points from this duo, the Blazers sprinted out to a 92-65 lead by the end of the third as they outscored the Suns 37-16 during those 12 minutes. Phoenix had six players in double figures, but none of them had more than 13 points. With the trade-deadline departure of Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, the engine that made this Suns team run is gone and there has been no replacement because of Brandon Knight’s injury. The Blazers have now won four straight games and seem to be finding their groove despite the absence of Wes Matthews. The Suns, on the other hand, are going in the wrong direction and will soon be eliminated from the playoffs at this rate.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/blogs/postup/demar-derozan-derails-rockets/feed/0SLAMonlineAndrew Wiggins Says He Will Be in Minnesota for ‘a Very, Very, Very Long Time’http://www.slamonline.com/nba/andrew-wiggins-says-he-will-be-in-minnesota-for-a-very-very-very-long-time/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/andrew-wiggins-says-he-will-be-in-minnesota-for-a-very-very-very-long-time/#commentsThu, 19 Mar 2015 17:30:44 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/?p=353193

Toronto gave Andrew Wiggins a warm welcome home Wednesday night, but the NBA’s leading Rookie of the Year candidate struggled with 15 points and three rebounds in a foul-plagued performance.

Wiggins says he’s totally focused on his current situation with the T-Pups.

Per the Toronto Star:

Canada’s Prime Minister never came to a Raptors game when Steve Nash visited Toronto every year, but he came Wednesday night. Stephen Harper’s plainclothes security detail swept through the building, very serious, and he was trailed by a small herd of staff, one of whom presumably sent out the tweet of the PM with two visiting Canadian NBA players, and only misidentified one of them. Rookie mistake, I guess.

“It goes by quick,” said Wiggins, before Toronto’s struggle-filled 105-100 win. “It definitely does, so you just have to cherish the moments, whether they’re in college or the NBA. You can only go through both of them once.”

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri tiptoed right up to the tampering line last week when he was asked if there was one player he wanted to see in Toronto, not including LeBron James, and he said, “We all know who he is, I’m not even going to say his name. He might be Canadian.” […] But by the time the Raptors chase Wiggins, he’ll be closer to fully formed. Asked about it, Wiggins smiled his impossibly wide smile and said, “I love Minnesota. They treat me nice up there. I plan to be there a very, very, very long time.”

Lowry also had three steals, while rocking a headband for the first time this season.

Per the AP:

“When things are not going so fun, you have got to find some things to make it fun again,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We can’t be too uptight or too down. We still have to have fun with it and I think Lou (Williams) and Kyle showed that tonight. Just something small like that carries over into the game.”

Toronto won for only the third time in 13 games, but finally earned its 40th in fewer than 70 games for the first time in franchise history. It also pulled off a season sweep of the Pacers, something last done in 2000-01.

He went 7 of 13 from the field, matched his season high in rebounds and became the first Toronto player since Alvin Williams to post consecutive 100-steal seasons. Williams did it three times from 2000-03. […] “The headband is done, don’t worry about it again,” Lowry said, drawing laughter.

So much talk of headbands recently. Last night, Kyle Lowry decided to don one for the Raptors’ road game against the Indiana Pacers. It just so happened that Lowry had a pretty decent game—20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists—his second triple-double this season.

Four more Raps scored in double-figures to help lift T-Dot over Indy. Lou Williams led all scorers with 24 off the bench, with 12 of his points coming in the final period when Toronto outscored the home team 29-17.

Wizards 105 (39-28), Trail Blazers 97 (44-21)

The Washington Wizards started off pretty hot last night as they hosted the Portland Trail Blazers in D.C. They completed the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 20-point lead heading into the third. With this reverse slam from Nene, the Wizards’ lead hit its peak at 25:

The Blazers hadn’t lost hope yet—they worked to outscore the Wizards 34-21 in the third, and cut the deficit to 3 points with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. They weren’t able to complete the task though, as John Wall (21 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) and his Wiz took down LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 12 rebounds) and the Blazers for their fourth straight victory.

The Boston Celtics scored a whopping 38 points to open up the game at the TD Garden last night, taking an early 20-point lead over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers. Both Tyler Zeller (career-high 26 points) and Avery Bradley (20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) scored 10 in that first quarter. The Celtics’ lead would grow as large as 27, and the Sixers never led once. They did shoot 73 percent in the third quarter though, and that could be sort of impressive if the score was different.

The Denver Nuggets were looking for their fifth consecutive win when they went to Memphis yesterday to face the Grizzlies. After trailing by 10 at halftime, Denver managed to take a 1-point lead in the third quarter, but Memphis wasn’t going anywhere. The gap was a mere two points at the start of the final period. But Zach Randolph (21 points, 16 rebounds) and Co. outscored their opponents by 9 by the end of it all to win their second straight. Jameer Nelson led all scorers with 24 in the loss.

Nets 122 (27-38), Timberwolves 106 (14-52)

In the first match-up between his current and former team, Kevin Garnett didn’t play. Neither did Ricky Rubio or Nikola Pekovic or Gary Neal. The Wolves used an eight-man rotation when they hosted the Brooklyn Nets at the Target Center yesterday night. Joe Johnson took full advantage, pouring in 22 points on 10-14 shooting from the field. The Nets shot 57.8 percent as a team, with 78 of their 122 points coming in the paint. Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 off the bench as the Nets look to inch closer to a Playoffs spot.

Heat 106 (30-36), Cavaliers 92 (43-26)

LeBron James was back in Miami last night as his Cleveland Cavaliers took their talents to South Beach to face the Heat. At the end of the first quarter, Miami was up by 5. In the second quarter, Dwyane Wade scored 16 points, the same amount as the entire Cavs team. Wade finished with 32 on the night to lead all scorers:

The Heat led 56-38 heading into the locker room, and their advantage would hit 25 in the third quarter. LeBron James (26 points) and the Cavs were unable to catch up, despite LBJ’s own 16 in the fourth. The Land shot just 38 percent from the field, compared to Miami’s 55.3 percent.

Mavericks 119 (43-25), Thunder 115 (37-30)

Russell Westbrook earned six triple-doubles in nine games heading into the match-up last night. Although he didn’t record another trip-doub yesterday in Dallas, he sure flirted with one—24 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds. Despite his strong performance, and five more Thunder guys in double-figs, the hometown Mavericks came out with the win. Chandler Parsons led the Mavs with 31 points, two of which came from this dunk:

Monta Ellis added 24, and Dirk Nowitzki dropped 22 to storm back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter. The Mavs outscored the Thunder 39-29 to tie it all up heading into the fourth, in which they finished off the visitors for good.

Jazz 94 (30-36), Hornets 66 (29-36)

The score you see above is the definition of a blowout. The Utah Jazz beat the Charlotte Hornets by 32 points to earn their sixth straight win. Their lead was as great as 44 yesterday, as they shot 62.5 percent from the arc—including 11 straight. Rodney Hood led all scorers with 24 and Rudy Gobert finished with 9 points and 22 rebounds—that’s his third 20+ rebound game this month. The Charlotte Hornets shot just 29.5 percent from the field, and their final 66 points were a season low.

Hawks 110 (53-14), Kings 103 (22-44)

It was a relatively close game last night when the Atlanta Hawks traveled cross country to Sacramento to take on the Kings. The Hawks were without Kyle Korver, and the Kings played without Rudy Gay. Although both teams were a little shorthanded, the Hawks had the edge. Six of their nine guys who saw minutes finished in double-figures. Jeff Teague led all scorers with 23, and Paul Millsap added 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Hawks’ third straight win. The Kings also had six of their guys in double-figs led by DeMarcus Cousins (20 points, 13 rebounds), but 20 turnovers can clearly hurt.

Warriors 108 (53-13), Lakers 105 (17-49)

The Warriors have officially clinched a Playoffs berth, and it wasn’t even due to their win last night. (It was thanks to the Thunder loss in Dallas.) But really, no one is surprised as the Dubs still sit atop of the West and the NBA.

Golden State played host to the Los Angeles Lakers last night. The game remained close throughout, with the lead staying in the single-digit realm. Klay Thompson finished with a game-high 26 (12 in the first quarter). Stephen Curry added 19 points and 9 assists, including this no-look beaut that’s becoming a common occurrence:

Shaun Livingston had one of those too:

And obvs, Steph loved it

The Warriors were up by 3 when the Lakers had possession with 3.4 seconds left on the clock. But Wesley Johnson, defended by Draymond Green, lost the ball out of bounds, and that was game.

Duncan left with 56 seconds remaining in Tuesday’s 117-107 victory over Toronto after injuring his left elbow in a collision with teammate Tiago Splitter and Raptors forward Amir Johnson. He has been wearing a wrap on the elbow for much of this season.

“They told us right away it was nothing big,” said Tony Parker, who continued his strong play with 23 points and nine assists.

Said coach Gregg Popovich, “He hyperextended his elbow. I think he will be OK. I think, but I don’t know. We’ll see. I think he’s OK.” […] Duncan finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. He has appeared in 58 of 63 games this season. All five of Duncan’s absences were for rest.

Masai Ujiri, the Toronto Raptors’ general manager, has made himself a fan-favorite for his clever front-office maneuvering and unapologetically outspoken nature. Ujiri continues to speak from the heart, regardless of

When asked if there was anything he’d done that he’d like to take back, Ujiri joked about his “F-Brooklyn” outburst, saying: “Trust me, I ain’t taking that back. I hope we play (the Nets) again, and I’ll say it again.” […] The comment prompted cheers from the crowd at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, host of the CIS Final 8 tournament.

“There is no doubt in my mind … during my time, even if my time is short, there will be a Canadian playing for the Toronto Raptors, 100 per cent. I have no doubt in my mind, it’s something we think about every day, it’s something we study … the guys in the NBA, the ones outside the NBA, the younger kids, the kids in college, the kids playing overseas. We’re just waiting for that one to come.” […] Ujiri said having a Canadian on the Raptors is “an obligation we have to fulfil. We’re a Canadian team and I think to have Canadian players I think would be phenomenal.”

When asked if there was one player he’d love to see in Toronto – and taking LeBron James off the table – Ujiri left little doubt that it’s Wiggins, the budding superstar from Vaughan, Ont. […] “We all know who he is, I’m not even going to say his name,” Ujiri said – more cheers from the crowd. […] In case there was any doubt, he added: “He might be Canadian.”

For the fifth time in the last six games, Russell Westbrook filled up the statsheet with yet another triple-double: 30 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds in a 108-104 win against the visiting Toronto Raptors.

Westbrook, the NBA’s top scorer, matched a career-high with the 17 dimes.

Russell Westbrook now has more triple-doubles this season (7) than Kevin Durant has in his entire career (6)

“He’s playing unbelievable basketball right now,” said (Kyle) Lowry, who finished with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting. “The man is unbelievable, and he’s pretty much carrying their team right now.”

Westbrook, the All-Star MVP and reigning Western Conference player of the month, said he’s aware of how special triple-doubles are. […] “It crosses my mind when we win, which is the most important thing,” he said.

(DeMar) DeRozan on Westbrook: “If you can find somebody who has slowed him down, let me know. But it’s definitely tough. You’ve got to give him credit.”

Things got testy between James and Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas in the third quarter, after the big fella yanked LeBron the floor by his neck.

The Cavs called the play dirty.

Per the Akron Beacon Journal:

“There’s a difference between a hard foul and a dirty play. Obviously that was a dirty play,” said Kendrick Perkins, the league’s resident savant on hard fouls. “We don’t have time for that type of s—.” […] “There’s a time and place you can get one off,” Perkins said when asked if it’s time to throw an elbow back at someone. “You just have to make sure it’s the right time. But at the end of the day you just try and go out there and play basketball. It’s a physical game and obviously (Valanciunas) was trying to send a message because he’d been getting beat out there in pick-and-rolls. But it’s just bull—-. It ain’t cool.”

Valanciunas denied intent, just as (James) Harden did on Sunday. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” Valanciunas said. “I was just trying to stop him from dunking the ball and I was protecting the rim and that’s it. I was just doing my job, protecting the rim, and it doesn’t matter how. I wasn’t trying to get anyone’s attention. An easy foul is not going to work on that player.”

“I don’t want to get too much involved in it because I don’t want to cry about it,” James said. “There’s a lot of plays that just aren’t basketball plays. But the referees take care of it and decide what it is or not, that’s what we’ve got rules for. I have to maintain my focus and understand how important the game is but at the same time protect myself as well.” […] “You have to understand the game is more important than trying to deliver a hard foul,” James said. “At that point we all know everyone is looking for the reaction. It’s the old elementary school house rule that the second guy always gets caught. So you just relax and play the game.”

Twenty years ago, the NBA broke brave new ground north of the border with its first teams outside of the continental United States. Canada had not only one, but two expansion teams to call its own: the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies.

The Raptors launched with their “Barney uniforms,” rookie Lottery pick Damon Stoudamire manned the point and the team finished with a dismal 21-61 record. But the Raps’ inaugural season had its own “shock the world” moment when the team handed Michael Jordan’s Bulls a 109-108 defeat during Chicago’s historic 72-10 campaign. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis six years later, while polite and passive Canadian fans had little to cheer about aside from individual talents like Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh. While the club had no issue developing All-Star players, there was never any real collective team success, with quality depth and balance—until now.

On December 8, 2013, a struggling 6-12 Toronto team acquired Chuck Hayes, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and Patrick Patterson from Sacramento in exchange for Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray. Trading your leading scorer for players trying to find a role on the hapless Kings seemed like a tank move more than anything, but the transaction sent the Raptors on a 42-22 run, ending the year with a franchise-best 48 wins and an Atlantic Division title.

Was it luck or foresight? “It’s both,” says Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri. “The part that I feel is luck is when you bring that many guys, you wonder, What is the chemistry going to be like? But we studied them so much, in terms of seeing, Hey, maybe they can be here? Maybe they can emerge into this? That’s part of the scouting and background work that we’ve done to determine a good fit, and they all fit in pretty good. We’re blessed that it worked out that way.”

What didn’t work out, however, was their first-round Playoff series in 2014 against the Nets, which they lost in seven games. Despite the profanities to Brooklyn, throngs of fans outside the arena, and record TV ratings, the Raptors fell short. Eastern Conference teams made plenty of moves during the offseason. LeBron James returned to the Cavs, who then acquired Kevin Love; Chicago picked up Pau Gasol with hopes of a healthy Derrick Rose; and Washington added veteran Paul Pierce.

Meanwhile, Ujiri focused on re-signing his own free agents in Kyle Lowry, Patterson and Vasquez. “Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing,” Ujiri says. “I think right now, we tried to build consistency with the team and let our young players like Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas grow a little bit.”

That growth has elevated the Raptors to one of the top teams in the League in offense, with five players averaging double digits in scoring, two over 9 per game and two more averaging 8 points per game. At the top is Lowry, leading the team in points and assists with 20.7 and 7.6, respectively, carrying his squad while All-Star DeMar DeRozan was sidelined for 21 games with a groin injury.

Regardless of Lowry’s play, it’s clear he feels the team success is greater than his 6-foot, 205-pound frame. “Me and DeMar, we accept everybody and everybody is one. We don’t think we’re better than anyone, and we know how important every guy on this roster is,” he says, proceeding to specifically name check players who aren’t in the rotation. His humility belies the fact he will be in New York for his first All-Star game in February. “I think for our team, it’s rare to have that focus, responsibility and that effort that we all give to each other.”

Two smaller but equally important moves have been key additions to the roster: the additions of forward James Johnson and guard Lou Williams, who have both fit right in. “The chemistry is the same as last year,” DeRozan says. “The new guys that came in hopped right along and got on with the same agenda, and that’s everybody playing for one another. Nobody’s bigger than the next person on this team.”

DeRozan’s comment is more than a sincere belief. It’s not just intricate handshakes, picking teammates up off the floor, or animated bench celebrations; the team demonstrates a genuine selflessness and desire as a whole to do better, superseding individual play. Almost in the way that Canadians are stereotypically nice and polite, the effusive respect and admiration from management, coaches and players is borderline comical.
Ujiri made more out of the Gay trade, flipping Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks for Williams and rookie Lucas Nogueira last summer in a steal of a deal. The 6-2 shooting guard has had no problem fitting in, regaining his scoring touch, averaging a career-high 15.1 points per game, and emerging as a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate. “It was easy for me—I always liked to be around guys that are very aggressive about winning,” he says. “Sometimes when you get on a team, you can get around a group of guys that are passive and say whatever happens, happens. That’s not the vibe that I got from this group. This group is going to make things happen and we’re going to work to the point we will will our way to a lot of wins, and I think it shows at this point in the season.”

Although the Raptors got off to a great start—dominating the Atlantic Division and leading the East for the better part of the first trimester—many basketball fans remained unimpressed with their performance. Johnson, a defensive stopper, is unfazed, agreeing that his team plays with a chip on its shoulder. “We’re always getting knocked,” he says. “When we’re winning, we’re not good enough, we’re pretenders. When we’re losing, ‘I told you they were going to lose.’ So everybody’s going to have their opinion, which is fine. But we have our own opinion, knowing that we are going to win games and take this as far as we can.”

The “us against the world” mentality is not restricted to opponents throughout the League, as the competitive spirit resides within the team itself. The reserves have dubbed themselves the “White Squad,” adopted from the white jerseys they wear in practice, priding themselves on being the best bench in the League.

“It started off last year as competitiveness in practice as far as the first unit going against the second unit,” Patterson says, “and carried over into training camp this year with the additions of Williams, JJ, [Greg] Stiemsma and the two rookies [Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira]. Every single time we have 4-on-4, 5-on-5, whatever drill that we participate in, it’s always the White Squad chanting, ‘White Squad, White Squad!’”

“We play with a lot of competitiveness out there, and it’s an overall fun competition that we look forward to every single day when we step on the court.” Johnson adds. “At the end of the day we’re all brothers, giving nothing but competitive nature in practice. It’s good for the game, especially when we think four or five of us from the second unit can start on any other team.”

The Raptors’ biggest challenge as a team is regaining their defensive composure. Head coach Dwane Casey is regarded as a defensive guru, but Toronto is floundering in the bottom third of the League in that category.

“We have to continue to get better,” Casey says. “I think people take for granted we won some games, but we’re nowhere near a finished product, ‘cause once we start having that mindset, we’re going to get in trouble. We need to get better in a lot of areas defensively.”

They were reminded of just that on a recent west coast road trip in which the squad finished 2-3, losing three games in a row to Portland, Golden State and Phoenix—the first time Toronto has endured three consecutive losses since the Gay trade. “We would’ve liked to and we could’ve done better,” Lowry says. “We got smacked a couple of games, but most of the games we were in it. We know we could play with anybody in the League, but we know that defense is going to win games for us.”

Win or lose, the fan support will be there. In what has become a mantra, a rallying cry and a manifesto, the franchise’s slogan of “We The North” has galvanized the country from coast to coast. Standing in the shadow of hockey in Canada, and all of America in general, the team did something distinctively un-Canadian prior to last season’s Playoff run: It stood up, proud of where it was, planted its flag and unabashedly let everyone know where it resided, challenging anyone to tread on its turf.

The campaign has taken the club from Toronto’s basketball team to Canada’s basketball team. Players have embraced it, fans have embraced it—even the Prime Minister has embraced it.

When asked about his expectations for the team come April, Lowry said, “We plan to be playing as long as possible. I plan to be getting tanned a little bit in Toronto.” At last check, tanning season in Toronto begins in June. When Lowry says “we,” the belief is that the Raptors are not only a balanced team with a 15-man roster, but a squad 35 million deep.

Now, 20 years later, whether it’s a sterling record, additional ESPN coverage, All-Star selections, Player of the Month or Coach of the Month accolades, it would appear that the true North is finally getting its due.

For the second straight game, (Kyle) Lowry sat out as the Raptors played his hometown Philadelphia 76ers Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Against the woeful Sixers, it turns out they didn’t need him after all, as they snapped a five-game losing streak with a 114-103 victory. If left to his own devices, Lowry admitted, he probably would have been out on the court.

“At the same time, you are getting older in your career and you’ve got bigger plans than to try to go out there and force and force something, especially when you have bumps and bruises, where you can take some time to get healthy, the long term is the plan, the long term for our season is really the goal in mind,” said Lowry.

Without Lowry, the Raptors lost to the league-worst New York Knicks 103-98 Saturday night, extending their losing streak to five games. Against the Sixers, the Raptors pulled away in the fourth quarter for their first win since Feb. 20. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 35 points.

The Wizards found a way to break their six-game losing streak even though they almost let a huge second-half lead get away from them. With Paul Pierce (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Bradley Beal (8 points, 6 rebounds) back in the starting lineup and Marcin Gortat (16 points, 17 rebounds) more than holding his own against Detroit’s sturdy frontline, the Wiz held a 69-48 lead with 8:58 to go in the third quarter. However, Spencer Dinwiddle (20 points, 8 assists) came out of nowhere to make this game a tight one. The former Colorado Buffalo scored 16 of his 20 points in the final 14 minutes of the game. He showed an ability to get into the lane, pull up from midrange and knock down the long ball. After Dinwiddie slammed home his own missed shot at the 6:48 mark in the final quarter, the Pistons actually took the lead 85-84. However, Gortat would nail two free throws a few minutes later and give the Wizards the lead for good. With consecutive losses by the Bucks, the Wiz remain in the five slot in the East.

Hawks 93 (47-12), Heat 91 (25-33)

The Hawks have gotten back to their streaking ways as they have now strung together four straight wins. Saturday night, they did so with three of their starters getting the night off. That wasn’t a problem for Paul Millsap (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), who scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes when Atlanta took over. This game wasn’t as close down the stretch as it looks as the Hawks led 91-83 with 29.7 seconds left in the game. a couple 3-point shots in Miami’s final two possessions made the final deficit look much better. Dennis Schroder (16 points, 10 assists, 2 steals) has backed up Jeff Teague fantastically, fitting seamlessly into both the first and second unit. He filled in nicely with Teague resting, earning himself a double-double. For the Heat, they controlled the glass (47-37) thanks to another monster double-double from Hassan Whiteside (14 points, 24 rebounds, 2 blocks). It is crazy to think about what this kid has done in the little time he’s been getting quality minutes in the NBA. And now that he’s keeping his fouls down, he’s getting minutes and producing. With Goran Dragic (6 points, 6 assists) not having one of his better nights, Mario Chalmers (16 points, 5 steals) stepped up off the bench. And Chalmers almost helped spearhead a fourth-quarter comeback if it wasn’t for Millsap taking advantage of the Heat’s undersized forwards towards the end of the game.

Knicks 103 (12-46), Raptors 98 (37-22)

Right as the Wizards find a way to get out of their slump Saturday night, the Raptors’ five-game losing streak hit a new low against the lowly New York Knicks. Tim Hardaway Jr. (22 points, 7 rebounds) scored 10 points in the first 12 minutes to help the Knicks build a 22-15 lead and Langston Galloway (6 points, 8 rebounds) connected on another clutch trey for the second night in a row. After making a 3-pointer to send last night’s double-overtime win into the first overtime, Galloway buries a trey with 13 seconds remaining to turn a two-point lead into a two-possession game. The Raptors had plenty of balance offensively with six guys in double figures, led by sixth man Lou Williams (22 points). However, without Lowry—who got the night off—Toronto’s offense hit a standstill late in this game. Greivis Vasquez (14 points, 6 assists) made a 3-pointer with 4:46 to go in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 96-87. During the next three minutes, the Knicks only managed to get one free throw from suddenly revitalized big man Lou Amundson (9 points, 3 blocks). The Raptors, though, missed their opportunity to really cut into this deficit and only managed to one more Vasquez 3-pointer. All the qualities that made Toronto so dangerous when the final quarter arrives in games seem to be slipping away, as does their spot in the two seed. They are now tied with the Bulls with the Cavs only half a game behind them.

Grizzlies 101 (42-16), Timberwolves 97 (13-45)

The Timberwolves struck early, but the Grizzles handed out the final blow as they got back on track after Friday’s blowout loss to the Clippers. With Andrew Wiggins (25 points, 4 rebounds) scoring eight of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter, Minnesota held a 24-18 lead going into the second quarter. In his second game with the team, Kevin Garnett (6 points, 3 steals) bothered Marc Gasol (27 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) during his time on the court. He may be limited in his abilities at this point in his career, but KG can certainly still guard. And he seems to be finding a bit of a groove with Ricky Rubio (13 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds) so far. However, his game was cut short after he pounded the ball onto the court in the third quarter and picked up his second technical foul in the process. After Garnett left the game with 7:34 left in the third, Gasol turned his game around. The Spaniard center went on to pour in 14 points in the final 17 minutes and really take it to the now undersized and inexperienced frontcourt. Gary Neal (16 points, 3-5 on 3-pointers) and Kevin Martin (13 points, 3-8 on 3-pointers) making three after three kept Minnesota in this game before Mike Conley (17 points, 4 assists) sealed the win with a 3-pointer (from Gasol) of his own and two made free throws.

Nets 104 (24-33), Mavs 94 (39-22)

Monta Ellis (12 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) and Dirk Nowitzki (20 points, 6 rebounds) may be the Mavs’ two best players on most nights; however, Tyson Chandler might just be the most valuable piece to this struggling Dallas team. With Chandler missing Saturday’s game, the Mavs lacked an interior presence and had player grab more than seven rebounds. The Nets had three players with at least eight rebounds, led by Mason Plumlee (14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Thaddeus Young (16 points, 8 rebounds), who has been very productive off the bench since being traded. Offensively, Brooklyn was led by Dallas-native Deron Williams (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4-6 on 3-pointers), who picked this Nets franchise over signing with the Mavs. The current Dallas point guard in Rajon Rondo (8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 turnovers, 4-10 from the field, team-worst -22) continued to struggle on the offensive end of the court. Rondo had a missed layup, a missed jumper and no assists in the game’s final six minutes. Even though it should be expected for it to take time for an elite point guard to be implemented into an entirely new system for the first time in his career, the adjective “elite” is starting to look more and more like an illusion. The Mavs have now been held below 100 points for the fourth straight game—a first this season—and have fallen behind the Clippers in the standings and are currently sixth.

Spurs 101 (36-23), Suns 74 (31-29)

Even though this was the second night of a back-to-back for the Spurs and the Suns came in on a day’s rest, this one wasn’t a contest from the tipoff to the final buzzer. After scoring the first eight points of the game, San Antonio continued to pile it on by building a 24-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. It only got worse from their as the lead swelled to 75-41 by the end of the third quarter. Garbage minutes actually made this game look a little better for the Suns, who are quickly finding themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in. With Kawhi Leonard (22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) leading the way, everything seemed to click for the balance Spurs, who outrebounded the undersized Suns 56-42. Leonard, Tim Duncan (6 points, 10 rebounds) and Aron Baynes (12 points, 10 rebounds) all reached double-digit boards on the night. Other than Marcus Morris’ (19 points, 7 rebounds) decent fourth quarter, there wasn’t much for Phoenix to be proud of. They couldn’t control the interior, push the pace or establish any sort of ball movement (13 assists). This might be another finish as the ninth or tenth seed for the Suns—something that has happened three times the past four seasons for this franchise.

Jazz 82 (23-35), Bucks 75 (32-27)

Since the departure of Enes Kanter and the emergence of Rudy Gobert (12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals), the Jazz have suddenly become a defensive force against high-powered offenses. Since the All-Star break, Utah has allowed only one team to score more than 82 points in five games—the other four teams ended up losing the the Jazz. Saturday night, Trey Burke (23 points, 6 assists, 5-10 on 3-pointers) seemed to make a play every time the Jazz needed one. Whether it was a deep three, nifty layup or alley-oop pass, Burke was putting on a show in the second half. And most promising of all, he only turned the ball over one time in 35 minutes. In the frontcourt, Derrick Favors (16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals) and Gobert continue to mesh wonderfully and look like legitimate building blocks for the future. For the Bucks, they simply couldn’t make enough shots or take care of the ball. They shot 39.2 percent from the field and coughed the ball up 23 times. They were able to keep it close because the Jazz were practically just as bad, shooting 38.2 percent and turning it over 22 times. Guards Michael Carter-Williams (16 points, 4 steals) and Khris Middleton (18 points, 6 rebounds) led Milwaukee in scoring but each had only three assists to go along with their three turnovers. This low 1-to-1 ratio isn’t going to cut. And with the way the season has suddenly turned since Brandon Knight was shipped away at the deadline, management can’t be pleased. Before the All-Star break, the Bucks had won eight of their last nine, held a 30-23 record and seemed to be on the rise in the East. Now? They have gone 2-4 and are averaging only 86.3 ppg. The Jazz, on the other hand, have won four of their last five—and three of those came against playoff teams in the Blazers, Spurs and Bucks.

The backcourt duo has shot around 36% this month, and the Raptors have stumbled to a 4-5 record in February.

DeRozan has put up 16.6 points a game in January, and improved slightly to 17.4 in February.

Per the Toronto Sun:

Asked to describe his game at the moment, Lowry had a quick response: “Me? I’m trash,” Lowry told reporters. “I’m trying to figure it out right now, to be honest with you. I don’t know (how to fix it), that’s why I’m in here, working hard and trying to figure out what to do to get myself back on track.”

“Right next to the trash can (that Lowry’s) is. Both trash,” DeRozan said, matter-of-factly as he signed merchandise following his media scrum.

“I don’t know what it may be, find a rhythm (after missing so much time due to injury), whatever it may be, but it happens,” DeRozan said. “You really realize who you are when you hit adversity and how you get through it. That’s all it is, it’s just we’re both not playing as we expect ourselves to play, especially with the hard work that we put in. We understand that we’re going to stick with it and aren’t going to hold our heads. Once it turns around, I think it’s going to be a scary sight. […] It’s just been difficult, with me personally, coming back from injury, not really having the amount of practice because we have back-to-backs, days off, whatever it may be, but at the same time we’ve got to get smart, try to rest and get treatment as much as possible. I understand that was going to be the tough part of it. The more games I play, the more comfortable I feel and get out of this little slump or whatever you call it. It’s going to be better in the long run.”

Following the on-court (and locker room) screaming fit between Rajon Rondo and head coach Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks suspended the fiery point guard for Wednesday night’s road tilt with the Atlanta Hawks.

Rondo suspended one game (tonight vs Atlanta). Conduct detrimental to team

Carlisle didn’t want to get into the details of the tiff with the inquiring media.

Rondo finished with 4 points and 4 assists in 17 minutes of action.

Per the Star-Telegram:

As the Raptors were in control of the game, Carlisle wanted Rondo to call a timeout. But as the timeout never came and Rondo kept dribbling the ball up the floor, Carlisle rushed onto the court, called timeout with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter and then shouted at Rondo as the nine-year veteran was headed to the bench. […] Rondo, an edgy player not known to back down to anyone, then cursed at Carlisle, and Carlisle cursed right back at him. When the dust settled, Devin Harris replaced Rondo, and Rondo never played again.

In trying to explain what happened between him and Rondo to make their tempers flare, Carlisle said: “It’s an emotional game and we had a difference of opinion, so there was an exchange and then in my mind it was over.” […] Asked if the difference of opinion was in regards to play-calling, Carlisle said: “I’m not going to get into that. But in my mind once it was over, it was over.”

“Both guys are very competitive, want to win, so that was unfortunate,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “But like I said that wasn’t the first time I’ve seen anything like that happen and it won’t be the last.” […] “Stuff like that is never good,” Nowitzki said of the Carlisle-Rondo dust-up. “It’s unfortunate, but like I say it does happens, and it’s how the team responds, it’s how the team moves forward, how both sides moves forward and make the best out of it.”

Anthony Davis (13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) made his return to the court Friday night after missing two games plus All-Star with a sprained right shoulder. But The Brow showed signs of rust, and the Magic pulled off the upset.

Nikola Vucevic AKA the double-double machine had 18 points and 13 boards to lead the way for Orlando. Elfrid Payton approached a triple double with 10 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, Victor Oladipo scored 22 and Evan Fournier added 16 and 6. The Magic held the Pels to just 13 points in the fourth quarter. Orlando has now held five straight opponents to under 100 points. Tyreke Evans finished with 14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds for NOLA in the loss.

Pacers (22-33) 106, Sixers (12-42) 95

Rodney Stuckey exploded for 30 points in 27 minutes off the bench and the Pacers took care of the lowly Sixers. After playing his heart out, Stuckey had to leave the floor with an injured ankle at the end of the fourth quarter. CJ Miles chipped in with 17 points and Luis Scola contributed 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

The Raptors have Atlanta’s number. After last night’s victory on the road, Toronto captured the season series 3-1. TDot won in large part thanks to defense; the Raps matched their season-high steals total with 15. There was another big reason, too…

Lou Williams erupted for 26 points including 7-10 from three-point range to go along with 4 steals in 24 minutes of play. DeMar DeRozan posted 21 points, 8 boards and 3 steals, Jonas Valanciunas had 8 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Lowry went for 10 points and 9 dimes.

Pistons (22-33) 100, Bulls (34-21) 91

The Pistons acquired Reggie Jackson and Tayshaun Prince in separate moves Thursday. Obviously, they weren’t ready for action Friday, so Detroit was left short-handed in a matchup with Chicago.

Spencer Dinwiddie was called up from the D-League to play point, and the youngster was a pleasant surprise. He dropped 12 points and 9 assists to go along with 3 steals. Most importantly, Dinwiddie completely outplayed Derrick Rose, who was abysmal; the former MVP shot just 2-9 from the floor for 9 points and committed 6 turnovers in 31 minutes. Dinwiddie’s new teammates were no slouches, either. In particular, Andre Drummond (18 points, 20 rebounds), Greg Monroe (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and Caron Butler (20 points, 4 steals) were terrific. The Bulls led through the game’s first two quarters, but couldn’t hold it together. Jimmy Butler scored 30 points, Joakim Noah put up 10 points and 14 rebounds and Pau Gasol added 12 points, 8 boards and 3 blocks.

Now on to last night’s Knicks-Heat matchup. Man, with ‘Melo shut down for the year, it’s slim pickings on this New York roster, forreal. Langston Galloway and Tim Hardaway Jr. are now their go-to scorers from here on out. Yikes … Eight of nine Heat players who saw action Friday scored in double figures. Mario Chalmers put up 13 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 8 (!!!) steals. Luol Deng nearly triple doubled as well; he finished with 13 points, 8 boards and 8 dimes. Meanwhile, Hassan Whiteside (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) continues to be a force inside, and Shabazz Napier had himself a game despite 7 turnovers with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Who else can’t wait to see Goran Dragic in action for Miami?

Timberwolves (12-42) 111, Suns (29-26) 109

Kevin Martin dropped 28 points and pulled down 6 boards, Andrew Wiggins shot 9-15 from the field for 20 points and Nikola Pekovic was a force inside with 16 and 11 as the T-Wolves outlasted Phoenix. Ricky Rubio (10 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds) flirted with a triple double and Gorgui Dieng (15 points, 12 rebounds) was the X-factor off the bench. Look for Kevin Garnett to suit up for his old squad next game.

The first game of ESPN’s double-header was a complete blowout. LeBron James and company got it going early and never took their foot off the gas pedal. King James went for 28 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in just 25 minutes, Kyrie dropped 25 and 7 and JR Smith posted 15 and 2 steals. Washington shot just 1-16 from beyond the arc. Nene and John Wall posted identical statlines of 18 points, 9 assists and 2 blocks, but the rest of the team failed to show up. It’s apparent just how much the Wiz miss Bradley Beal. Get well soon, Big Panda.

LeBron and Kyrie were fully in sync Friday night:

Mavericks (37-20) 111, Rockets (36-18) 100

Eight Mavericks scored in double figures, and Dallas capitalized on 21 Houston turnovers to win its 37th game of the season. The Mavs got nice production from an unlikely source: Al-Farouq Aminu, who posted a cool 17 points and 12 boards. With Rajon Rondo showing signs of rust coming off an eye injury, Devin Harris stepped up with 17 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Tyson Chandler went for 10 points and 14 rebounds. Dallas closed strong against its in-state rival to win despite 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from MVP candidate James Harden.

Look for Amar’e Stoudemire to play his first game as a Maverick come Sunday against the Hornets. Meanwhile, fresh acquisitions KJ McDaniels and Pablo Prigioni should see time for Houston when the Rockets face Toronto on Saturday night.

Bucks (31-23) 89, Nuggets (20-34) 81

Like many of the teams that saw action Friday, both the Bucks and the Nuggets made moves the day before to beat the trade deadline. As a result, both rosters were a bit shaken up when they matched up in Milwaukee.

Khris Middleton was the Bucks’ high scorer with 15 as Milwaukee got the best of Denver. Jared Dudley put up 11 points and 8 rebounds, Jerryd Bayless added 11 points, 8 dimes and 7 rebounds and the Greek Freak went for 10 points and 9 rebounds. John Henson (14 points) put the team on his back during a seven-minute span in the third quarter in which he dropped four buckets. Michael Carter-Williams has a sprained right big toe and had to sit this one out for the Bucks. We’ll get to see him in action for Milwaukee soon enough. For Denver, Wilson Chandler was solid with 18 points, as was Jusuf Nurkic, who posted 15 and 11. Newly acquired Thomas Robinson sat out. It’ll be fun to see him team up with fellow rebounding madman Kenneth Faried.

So far, so good for the George Karl era in Sac-town. DeMarcus Cousins was a problem at home last night; the big fella dominated with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 2 steals (we’ll forgive you for the 9 turnovers, Boogie). Rudy Gay had 28 points and 3 blocks and Omri Casspi finished with 28 points, 6 assists and 4 steals as Sacramento topped Boston. It wasn’t pretty — Sacramento committed 24 turnovers — but the Kings overpowered the short-handed Celtics in the end. Avery Bradley (28 points, 6 assists, 4 steals) and Tyler Zeller (22 points, 6 assists) kept this one competitive. The C’s just got Isaiah Thomas via trade, but he won’t be ready to play until Sunday.

JAE CROWDER, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING:

Warriors (43-9) 110, Spurs (34-21) 99

The second game of ESPN’s Friday night double-header was much closer than the first. Well… at least for the first half, which ended Golden State 62, San Antonio 55.

The final 24 minutes were a different story. The Warriors’ offense was a thing of beauty. In fact, they played San Antonio basketball: unselfishly, lots of ball movement, always making the extra pass. When Steph Curry, Klay and company are playing with that style, they’re impossible to defend because the talent level is levels above their opponents’. At Oracle Arena on Friday, Golden State cashed in on 17 three-pointers, and the Splash Brothers were completely in control of the action — no small feat against the defending champs. Steph Curry scored 25 points, dished out 11 dimes and grabbed 4 steals. Klay Thompson finished with 20 on the night while Harrison Barnes chipped in with 16. Aron Baynes — yes, Aron Baynes — was the Spurs’ top performer with 12 points and 10 boards.

Curry is a magician:

Nets (22-31) 114, Lakers (13-41) 105

The Lakers led 57-56 at halftime, but the Nets took a sizeable lead in the third quarter. BK led by 22 at one point in the fourth quarter until Los Angeles began to chip away at the lead. But it was too little too late.

Joe Johnson led all scorers with 23 points. Deron Williams had 12 points and 15 assists and Brook Lopez posted 22 and 14 off the bench. Thaddeus Young saw 12 minutes of action and scored 8 points in his Brooklyn debut. For the Lakers, Jeremy Lin dropped 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, Ed Davis finished with 16 and 14 and Robert Sacre contributed 13 and 7.

Williams was Toronto’s top scorer on 8-of-15 shooting, including four three-pointers. DeMar DeRozan contributed 23, including the go-ahead basket with 12 seconds remaining. Kyle Lowry had 13, and Grievis Vasquez added 11.

“I was very mindful of having zero points that last game so my mindset coming in was be aggressive,” said Williams, who had been 0-of-5 from the floor on Sunday. “I think now the proof is in the pudding that we are pretty solid basketball team… After the break we have to step it up one more notch when everyone comes back fully rested.”

“I’ll put that one in the archives and look back at it a long time from now,” said DeRozan of his shot, which he hit over Wall. […] Paul Pierce — who stung the Raptors as a Brooklyn Net in the playoffs last year with clutch game winners and a series-winning defensive stop in Game 7 – got loose for some critical looks, including eight fast points within two minutes in the third quarter, and finished with 17. Low post man Nene had 14 and four steals.

The Nets stayed alive in the hunt for the East’s eighth seed as Brook Lopez (22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks) had a huge game off the bench and Jarrett Jack (20 points, 8 assists) came through in the closing moments of the game. After Jason Smith (8 points, 4 rebounds) knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:21 to go in the fourth, both teams had a couple of bad possessions. However, with 13.8 seconds remaining, Jack drained a 3-pointer to turn a one-point game into a two-possession game. As dreadful as Brooklyn has been at times (most times) this season, Jack has been a nice surprise as a starter and closer. Carmelo Anthony (21 points, 7 rebounds) led the Knicks in scoring as they shot 38.2 percent from the field. The reason New York was even in this game was because they only turned the ball over five times, compared to 14 times for the Nets. The Knicks are now the third team in the NBA so far to reach 40 losses (76ers and Timberwolves).

Pacers 103 (19-32), Cavaliers 99 (31-21)

This matchup may not have the same firepower to it as the “Heat-Pacers” rivalry from the previous few seasons, but Indiana’s veterans showed up to play Friday night. George Hill (20 points, 7 assists, 12-15 on free throws) and David West (20 points, 13 rebounds) got the best of LeBron James (25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 turnovers) as C.J. Miles (26 points, 4-10 on 3-pointers) joined in on the battle with a big game from deep. The play of the game easily came at the 1:26 mark in the fourth quarter. With Cleveland up 92-91 after an Iman Shumpert (6 points, 3 rebounds) trey, the Pacers needed a huge shot to put them back in front in this back-and-forth contest. Coming off a ball screen, Hill heaved an off-balanced, one-handed deep ball, simply trying to draw contact from Kyrie Irving (29 points, 5 assists). Not only did Hill draw the foul, he drilled the 3-pointer and the free throw to turn his team’s one-point deficit into a three-point lead. The Pacers wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the way as they locked down on defense and made 8-10 from the charity stripe. After all the positive vibes the Cavs were giving off during their recent 12-game winning streak, they didn’t show signs of continuity Friday night. They had 18 assists and 15 turnovers…while the Pacers had 26 assists and only eight turnovers. Even in the loss, J.R. Smith (17 points, 6-14 from the field, 5-12 on 3-pointers) continued to play in an efficient manner. He seems to really be turning his game around in Cleveland.

Magic 103 (16-37), Lakers 97 (13-37) OT

In the Magic’s first game since the firing of former head coach Jacque Vaughn, interim head coach James Borrego started things off with an overtime victory at Amway Center. Their 10-game losing streak came to a close in large part due to Tobias Harris (career-high 34 points, 7 rebounds, 14-18 from the field) having one of the best games of his young career. The forward was making acrobatic layups, pull-up jumpers and even a couple 3-pointers to top it off. He took advantage of a Los Angeles defense with plenty of gaping holes that have been there all season long. The Lakers, who have now taken three of their past four games into overtime, saw Ryan Kelly (20 points, 5 rebounds) take advantage of Jordan Hill’s sidelining, drilling five 3-pointers. Jordan Clarkson (14 points, 6 assists, 4 steals), Carlos Boozer (14 points) and Jeremy Lin (14 points, 6-8 from the field) all had 14 points while Nikola Vucevic (25 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) claimed another monster double-double. The Lakers lost this game during a quick one-minute stretch in overtime. After Wesley Johnson (9 points, 9 rebounds.) made a 3-pointer with 2:59 remaining in overtime, L.A. held a 94-93 lead. The Magic then went on to score on three of their next four possessions and take a 99-94 lead with 1:24 to go. This has been one of the glaring problems for Los Angeles this season—when the team needs to make stops, they simply don’t know how to bring it together and force a missed shot.

Raptors 123 (34-17), Clippers 107 (33-18)

The Raptors entered this game losers of their last two after stringing off six straight wins before that. And about 10 minutes into this game, it seemed like the losing streak would continue for Toronto. Spencer Hawes (9 points) made a 3-pointer at the 2:34 mark in the first quarter to give the Clippers a commanding 30-10 lead. The Toronto crowd was out of this just as much as the Raptors’ offense. However, the next two quarters showed why the Raptors look poised to make some noise in the East playoffs while L.A. seems to be pretenders out West. In the second and third quarter, the Raptors outscored the Clippers in embarrassing fashion, 76-45. It was utter domination by the Drakes as DeMar DeRozan (24 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and Kyle Lowry (21 points, 3-6 on 3-pointers) combined to score 31 of their 45 points in these 24 minutes. Chris Paul (22 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and Blake Griffin (26 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds) both put up solid numbers, but their team too often looks soft, to be blunt. They get shoved around and thrown off their game very easily, leading to technical fouls and bad losses down the stretch. The Clippers are certainly in the playoff hunt just like the other top teams in the West, but something seems off for Doc Rivers’ squad.

Hawks 124 (42-9), Warriors 116 (39-9)

The matchup of the year. This game featured the best team from each conference facing off in what should have been a nationally-televised game. These two teams have contrasting styles of play, but what they have in common is a willingness to run their coach’s system and play to their teammates’ strengths. It showed in Friday’s contest during a high-scoring, high-intensity battle. The final score makes it seem like there was no defense involved in the 48 minutes of play. However, what really happened was two teams with great chemistry and rhythm ran their offenses in a beautiful manner. For any sort of NBA fan, it was pure entertainment. The Hawks took back the reins as holding the best record in the NBA because of their willingness to share the ball. As powerful and explosive as Stephen Curry (26 points, 9 assists) and Klay Thompson (29 points, 5 assists) can be at a moment’s notice, Atlanta still looks to share the ball just a little bit more. There was a possession early on in the game when Jeff Teague (23 points, 7 assists) had a wide open 3-pointer with a Warriors big man rotating out to cover the shot. Teague easily could have hoisted up a trey. Instead, he dumped it down to a now open Paul Millsap (21 points, 3 steals), who easily laid it in. This might only be one play, but it embodies the Hawks’ willingness to make the simple, right play. This happens so frequently that it becomes contagious for the whole team. There is a reason seven Hawks players scored in double figures compared to only four for the Warriors. The game remained close going into halftime and the final quarter. A major reason it remained tight was because of Draymond Green’s (12 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists) harassment on the boards. Golden State’s glue guy snatched 10 offensive rebounds and wouldn’t let the Hawks run away with this one. He helped the Warriors outrebound the Hawks 51-38. The turning point, though, came midway through the final quarter when the Hawks used a 12-4 run to take just the second double-digit lead of the game. During that run, three shots were made and three shots were assisted on. Even though the Warriors won the assist battle 31-28, Atlanta still had quicker, cleaner ball movement overall. The Hawks now must go one ranking down in the West standings and play the Grizzlies Sunday.

Celtics 107 (19-30), 76ers 96 (11-40)

The Celtics built up a large 26-point lead, played poorly for a large part of the second half and closed this one out thanks to a big game from Jared Sullinger (22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists). After Philly trailed 70-49 midway through the third quarter, this game seemed like a lost cause the rest of the way. However, the Sixers showed some grit as they fought their way back into this game. With no Michael Carter-Williams in the lineup, K.J. McDaniels (15 points) helped lead the charge while Luc Mbah a Moute (18 points, 3-6 on 3-pointers) and Robert Covington (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3-8 on 3-pointers) found their touch from deep. Just like that, the Sixers suddenly only trailed 83-80 after Hollis Thompson (16 points, 8 rebounds, 4-5 on 3-pointers) nailed a trey with 7:37 to go. However, Philly used all that energy to climb back that they had nothing left over the next two minutes when Boston went on an 8-0 run to put this one away. Six Celtics scored in double digits as guards Avery Bradley (18 points) and Marcus Thornton (16 points, 5 rebounds) looked good down the stretch.

Pistons 98 (20-31), Nuggets 88 (19-32)

The final score makes this one seem even closer than it was as the Pistons cruised to pick up their 20th win of the season. Greg Monroe (21 points, career-high 21 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) scored his team’s first six points of the game and continued putting on the pressure throughout the game. As fun as Jusuf Nurkic (6 points, 13 rebounds) has been for Denver, his team rarely applies any pressure in the interior. Kenneth Faried (10 points, 6 rebounds) hasn’t been himself all year while Darrell Arthur (10 points, 0 rebounds) and J.J. Hickson (6 points, 5 rebounds) have never been known for their defense. Andre Drummond (13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) took advantage in notching another double-double. Monroe and Drummond are the only two teammates in the League averaging double-doubles. Jodie Meeks (18 points) scored all eight of his field goals inside the 3-point line. Detroit held a double-digit lead at halftime and eventually led by 22 before garbage time began and the game became closer. The Nuggets continue to spiral down the Western Conference standings as they have lost five in a row.

Rockets 117 (35-15), Bucks 111 (27-23)

Jason Kidd has had his team rolling as they entered this game winners of their last five. The Bucks head coach did not want James Harden (33 points, 5 assists) to be the one to end the streak as he threw everything at the shooting guard. From double-teams at halfcourt to different defenders all night, Kidd tried his best to throw Harden off. It didn’t change much for the MVP candidate as he went off for 33 points and made his way to the free throw line (per usual). Furthermore, due to Milwaukee’s incessant and early pressure, the Rockets moved the ball quickly and often, leading to 32 assists and 15 3-pointers. Josh Smith (14 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5-8 from the field) didn’t have his highest scoring performance, but he certainly had one of his most in-control and balanced games since becoming a Houston Rocket. He gave them exactly what they need from him off the bench. For the Bucks, seven guys scored in double digits as Giannis Antetokounmpo (27 points, 15 rebounds) led the way. Brandon Knight (12 points, 11 assists, 5 steals) also picked up a double-double. These young Bucks are young and long, causing havoc on many possessions. However, they are still learning and trying to understand how to play together. The veteran Rockets were too much for them Friday night.

Timberwolves 90 (10-40), Grizzlies 89 (37-13)

The Grizzlies seemed set to win their ninth straight game and inch closer to the Warriors in the standings as they were facing one of the worst teams in the League. However, Ricky Rubio (17 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) was the force behind Minnesota stunning Memphis at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Wolves point guard didn’t look like he was having any ankle problems in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points in the final 1:47 to help turn a seven-point deficit into a one-point victory. Andrew Wiggins (18 points, 6 rebounds) also made some big shots down the stretch. As great as Mike Conley (15 points, 7 assists) and Zach Randolph (6 points, 10 rebounds, 5 turnovers) have been all season long, they did not look good in the final minute of a game they let slip away. In the final 1:09 when Minnesota went on a 7-0 run to close out the game, the Grizzlies had three possessions. These consisted of a Conley missed jumper followed by Randolph losing the ball and Conley throwing the ball away with his team only down one with 5.9 seconds to go. Because of it, Memphis missed a great opportunity to make up some ground on Golden State, who lost to Atlanta on the night.

Pelicans 116 (27-23), Thunder 113 (25-25)

This game had huge implications for two teams fighting for their playoffs lives on the outside looking in. They both have huge superstars who want a crack at one of the top team’s in the West. However, one superstar made a statement in a monumental way. Anthony Davis (41 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) knocked down his first career-buzzer beater to take down the Thunder and create a little more breathing room between these two teams. This was Davis’ first made 3-point field goal of the entire season. Before he even hit that shot, though, the Brow was having himself a monster night. Davis is the only player with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and a game-winning buzzer beater the past 10 seasons. Another Pelican with a huge statline had to be Tyreke Evans (22 points, 16 assists, 10 rebounds), who was the sole distributor for New Orleans. If it wasn’t for Evans getting Davis the ball, the Pelicans would have been destroyed by Russell Westbrook’s (career-high 48 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) fury. This kid is ridiculous. He became the fourth player in NBA history with at least 45 points, five rebounds and five assists in consecutive games. With Kevin Durant (27 points, 9-26 from the field) struggling from the field, Westbrook did everything in his power to will his team to a victory. His attempt fell short due to a 21-year-old phenom making one of the biggest shots of the year. Watch out, Phoenix, the Brow is coming for you.

Suns 100 (29-23), Jazz 93 (17-33)

With the Pelicans and Thunder looming right behind them, the Suns had to find a way to snap out of their three-game losing streak. They did just that due to an unexpected hero in Marcus Morris (career-high 34 points, career-high 12 rebounds, 2 steals). He caught fire from deep early on, which set up the rest of his game and led to his best performance as a pro. He received help from his guards in Eric Bledsoe (15 points, 6 assists, 4 steals) and Isaiah Thomas (10 points, 4 assists) as the Suns really took control of the game in the fourth. After a back-and-forth battle, the Jazz were within reaching distance to pull off the upset on the road. Gordon Hayward (24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Derrick Favors (20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) had carried their team all night long. However, Utah went through a scoring drought as they could only make three field goals in the first seven minutes of the final quarter. By that point, the deficit had swelled to double digits and the Suns were on their way to picking up their 29th victory of the season.

Spurs 98 (32-18), Heat 85 (21-29)

In the first matchup between these two teams since the 2014 NBA Finals, there was hardly a resemblance of any sort of rivalry or even competition as the Spurs breezed to an easy double-digit win. While the Spurs have the same system and gameplan, the Heat are still trying to figure out how to live without LeBron James. Yes, it is almost All-Star Break; however, when you lose the best player in the world, it’s going to take time to find a new rhythm. San Antonio built up a 20-point second half lead behind Kawhi Leonard (24 points, 3 steals), Tony Parker (21 points, 9-12 from the field) and a balanced offense. Parker reached the 20-point plateau for the first time since returning from injury. When his midrange game is going, he becomes extremely difficult to defend. Tim Duncan (10 points, 12 rebounds) notched a double-double and got to watch the end of the game from the bench. The Heat, who were without Hassan Whiteside, were actually led by their big men. Luol Deng (17 points, 6 rebounds), Chris Bosh (14 points, 7 rebounds) and Chris Anderson (10 points, 5 rebounds) all reached double digits, but the guard play really struggled—other than Tyler Johnson (18 points, 7-10 from the field) late. He scored nine of his points in the final two minutes of the game when it didn’t matter. With the loss, the Heat are now ninth in the East and out of the playoffs.

‘Reke finished with a game-high 26 points, 5 rebounds and five assists in a 95-93 road win against the reeling Toronto Raptors. Evans also hit an incredibly-tough layup to seal matters.

Per the Times-Picayune:

“Obviously we played against a team that’s picked to do well in the East,” Pelicans head coach Monty Williams said. “At some point, you have to overcome and I’m always talking about that with our team. Tyreke was the man down the stretch.”

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Evans said about his game-deciding shot. “On the first play I gave it to Eric (on his missed 3-point attempt), but I was going to do the same thing but they did a good job of closing the lane. Then, the second time no matter what I was going to try and make a play.”

“We’re playing in mud right now,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Confidence wise, we have to come out believing that we’re going to make a play offensively or defensively.”

Following an absence of more than six weeks due to a groin tear, Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan rejoined the fray Wednesday night, putting in a team-high 20 points in a 100-84 win against the visiting Philadelphia Sixers.

Needless to say, the Raptors — backcourt mate Kyle Lowry, in particular — were thrilled to have DeRozan back in the fold.

The All-Star played 28 minutes in his return.

Per the Globe and Mail:

Kyle Lowry had a smile that wouldn’t go away, even as he picked up clothes that lingered over from DeMar DeRozan’s locker stall into his own and tossed it back at his backcourt mate with a mock scolding. […] “Sorry guys,” a snickering DeRozan said to a waiting throng of reporters. “We’re like an old married couple.”

Lowry finally had his best teammate back, and the weight loaded on the point guard’s shoulders seemed to lighten. Lowry himself lightened too. […] “He gets guys some open shots and takes some attention off me, and it’s always good when you get your All-Star back and he can get 20 points on 14 shots in such an efficient way,” said Lowry. “Tonight, he played how he always plays.”

It had been 21 games since Toronto’s All-star shooting guard skidded out on the floor while driving to the hoop against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 30, and then lay there clenching and groaning in pain. The Raptors went 12-9 without him and their brand of play had slowly turned from defensive-minded to free-wheeling without DeRozan there to slow the pace. Offence picked up but defence suffered. It was a style that would never win in the playoffs.

The NBA announced Wednesday that they have fined Brandon Jennings fifteen large, for making an obscene gesture after hitting a big three late in the fourth quarter Monday night against the Toronto Raptors.

Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings has been fined $15,000 for making an obscene gesture during the Pistons’ 114-111 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday, Jan. 12, at Air Canada Centre, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

Jennings’ actions occurred with 2:58 remaining in the fourth quarter of the game.

When the league released its latest All-Star voting update on Thursday, Lowry was slotted fourth among Eastern Conference guards, behind Washington’s John Wall, Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.

Fans are responsible for selecting the starters for the NBA’s annual All-Star Game, which will take place in New York City on Feb. 15, voting in two guards and three frontcourt players from each conference before the league’s coaches fill out the rosters.

One way or another the Raptors’ guard, in his ninth NBA season, is poised to become a first-time All-Star. In 34 games this season, Lowry is averaging a career-best 20.6 points (17th in the NBA and second among East guards, behind Wade) and 7.6 assists (tied for seventh in the NBA and ranked second among East guards, behind Wall). He ranks ninth in PER (player efficiency rating), third among Eastern Conference players at any position (behind LeBron James and Wade), and is seventh overall in win shares (estimated number of wins a player produces for his team), second in the East behind only Jimmy Butler of the Bulls.

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas found himself in an unfortunate position Sunday night, attempting to defend a two-on-one fastbreak against the Phoenix Suns. Things ended poorly for Jonas, as Archie

Ay, Jodie Meeks—I see you. The city of Orlando sees you too. I mean, you’re pretty hard to miss when you make nine of 11 shots fall from downtown.

That’s right, Mr. Jodie Meeks scored a season-high 34 points off-the-bench in last night’s game between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic. Meeks had the hot hand to lead his team to its third consecutive win after establishing a lead that’d never dwindle in the second quarter. He received help in the form of double-doubles from both Andre Drummond (17 points and 22 rebounds) and DJ Augustin (11 points and 10 assists):

Hawks 109 (23-8), Cavaliers 101 (18-13)

With the win last night at home, the Atlanta Hawks are only a half game behind the Raptors for the top spot in the East. And they’re tied with the Grizzlies for the fourth best record in the League. We just don’t know when—and if—we’ll ever need to stop saying #ATLshawty.

The Hawks held the visiting Cavaliers to 28.6 percent in the second quarter for 16 points. They built a nice 17-point lead early in the third period to extend their 10-point advantage from halftime. That didn’t put the Cavs away, however. The LeBron-less Cleveland team stuck around to come back within 5 by the end of the third, led by Kyrie Irving (35 points and 9 assists). In the fourth, the Cavs cut the gap to 2, but Paul Millsap ensured the Hawks would win. He scored 10 of his 26 in the final period as Atlanta went on to win it.

Nets 96 (15-16), Bulls 82 (22-10)

The Brooklyn Nets officially put the Chicago Bulls’ winning streak to rest last night in the United Center. Brook Lopez (season-high 29 points and 5 rebounds) and Joe Johnson (20 points and 11 rebounds) showed no mercy for the home team that looked to extend their streak to eight. It wasn’t the best shooting night for the Bulls. They went 38.4 percent from the field and missed seven free throws out of the 15 times they were at the stripe. The backcourt of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler combined for 5-27. The Nets held the Bulls to a 14-point second quarter for a 55-45 halftime lead. They went up by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter, and well, that was that.

Grizzlies 95 (23-8), Spurs 87 (19-14)

The Memphis Grizzlies added another satisfying win over the defending Champions to their record last night, as they beat out the Spurs in the FedExForum. Mike Conley had the game-high 30 points to go along with 7 boards and 6 dimes. Sixteen of his 30 came in the first quarter alone, as Memphis took an early 10-point lead. They extended their lead to 14 at the half. San Antonio wasn’t ready to give up yet though. They did what they could to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 3 in the final quarter, but it simply wasn’t enough.

Pelicans 110 (16-15), Suns 106 (18-15)

Another wining streak saw its end last night. The New Orleans Pelicans forced the Phoenix Suns to say goodbye to their season-high six-game winning streak in the Smoothie King Center yesterday. Tyreke Evans (24 points and 8 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (19 points and 18 rebounds) led their Pels to victory, after both teams started off the game a little ugly. The Suns and Pelicans combined to miss their first 10 shots (and two free throws). Goran Dragic (22 points) ended the three-minute dryspell when he scored the first two points of the game with a layup at the 9:09 mark in the first quarter. The Pelicans gained a 14-point advantage in the first quarter, but the Suns were back in it to keep the score close throughout the night. In the final couple minutes, Evans scored 8 points to seal the W for the Pelicans.

Mavericks 114 (23-10), Wizards 87 (22-9)

You guessed it, another winning streak ended yesterday. This time it was a mini one—but I’m trying to find a common thread here. The Washington Wizards saw their little three-game streak snap when the Dallas Mavericks came out with a big 27-point victory in the American Airlines Center last night. After hurting his ankle in the Mavs’ previous game on Sunday, Monta Ellis came right back to the starting lineup. Not only that, but he scored a game-high 20 points and snagged 4 steals to lead his team to the W. Chandler Parsons added 14 points for the Mavs, including this 4-point play that came in the third:

Lakers 111 (10-22), Nuggets 103 (13-19)

A triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) for Kobe Bryant in a victory to snap a three-game losing streak—doesn’t get much better than that for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 9 boards off-the-bench and Ronnie Price contributed 18 points in the win. The high-scoring men for the Denver Nuggets were Ty Lawson and rookie Jusuf Nurkic, each with 16 points. Though the Lakers had a 23-point lead in the third, the Nuggets came as close as 5 near the end of the fourth before L.A. pulled away for good.

Jazz 100 (11-21), Timberwolves 94 (5-25)

So at least one of the active streaks in the League continued last night…the losing streak for the Minnesota Timberwolves. With yesterday’s loss in Utah, the Wolves dropped their ninth in a row. One bright side though—Shabazz Muhammad looked great, scoring a game- and career-high 30 points to go along with 7 boards. No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins didn’t look bad either with his 21 points, 2 of which came from this play:

Perhaps the future will be a little brighter for Minneapolis, because this season is far too cloudy.

Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke had 26 points each to lead the Jazz to a win at home. Hayward scored 11 in the fourth to bring his team back from 10 points down earlier in the quarter. Enes Kanter added another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Trail Blazers 102 (26-7), Raptors 97 (24-8) OT

While we couldn’t witness another buzzer-beating shot from Damian Lillard in last night’s Trail Blazers-Raptors game, we still got a pretty good one. We’ve just been kind of spoiled by him and his clutch gene. Nevertheless, Lillard scored a game-high 26 points (6 in OT) to go with 9 assists (2 in OT) to give the Blazers a win after being down 13 earlier in the game. LaMarcus Aldridge added a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double in the victory. For the Raptors, Amir Johnson tied the game at 87 to force the OT. But despite that shot, 25 points from Kyle Lowry, and a double-double from James Johnson (14 points and 11 rebounds), the Raps ended up with a loss in Portland.

Warriors 126 (25-5), Sixers 86 (4-26)

Can’t call this anything but a pure blowout—a 40-point win for the team with the best record hosting the team with the worst record. The biggest lead was actually 47. Seven Warriors finished the game last night in the Oracle Arena in double-figures, led by Marreese Speights (23 points). Golden State shot 56.1 percent from the field, while holding Philly to 38.4 and forcing 27 turnovers. Appreciate some of the beautiful plays, courtesy of the Warriors from last night’s dub:

“I hate to be redundant, but I just care so much about this city and the people in it,” Drake said. “It’s amazing to see all these people so passionate about something … Toronto is such a mosaic of different people from different cultures and different walks of life. You look around the building and you see all these people coming together for a great squad. It gets more and more exciting.”

Someone asked him if he plans to eventually take an ownership stake in the team. That’s an obvious step – he’s hugely wealthy, and won’t be a musician forever. […] “These guys are my friends and the city is my city,” Drake said. “I’m not really looking to monetize or capitalize on my involvement. I’m here strictly for support and to be more unified.”

Price spent his first nine seasons in Cleveland (although he lost a little more than a full year to injuries) before bouncing around the league a bit at the end. He still ranks 30th all-time in NBA 3-point percentage (.402). But James surpassed him in a little more than seven seasons. Quite remarkable for a kid who once upon a time couldn’t shoot – although in fairness, James has also attempted in excess of 400 more 3s than Price did in his time with the Cavs.

“It means I’ve been healthy and my teammates have allowed me to do some pretty good things,” James said of tying the mark. “For a guy who came into the NBA as a non-shooter, I’ve worked on my game a little bit over the years.”

This was one of the few records James didn’t already own. He returned this season as the franchise leader in points, field goals, scoring average, shots attempted, free throws, free throws attempted, 3-pointers attempted, steals and minutes played. If he stays healthy he’ll surpass Price in assists by the end of the season.

The Raptors are hosting “Drake Night” on December 17 in honor of the team’s global ambassador, Drake. All ticket holders will receive a limited-edition OVO x Raptors t-shirt featuring the original Raptors logo and the number 95 (the team’s founding year).

Coming off a double-overtime loss to the Mavericks, the Bulls were looking to rebound against a lowly Hornets squad. That’s exactly what they did, as Chicago’s frontcourt of Pau Gasol (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (14 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) dominated inside. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler each added 15 points and 5 dimes while Nikola Mirotic chipped in with 11 points and 12 boards. Kirk Hinrich, who committed an all too costly end-of-game foul on Monta Ellis in Tuesday night’s loss to Dallas, redeemed himself with pivotal three-pointers down the stretch.

Charlotte did have its moments. Cody Zeller (12 points, 8 rebounds) threw down a ridiculous facial on Pau Gasol that has Slamadamonth written all over it. Later in the game, Kemba Walker (23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) hit Mirotic with one of the quickest crossovers I’ve ever seen, effectively rearranging Mirotic’s ankles and sinking the subsequent three-pointer. Born Ready had a nice game, too—he dropped 20, 8 and 4 on 9-18 shooting. Al Jefferson scored below his average but was still productive with 13 to go along with 7 boards.

Wizards (12-5) 111, Lakers (5-14) 95

Kobe went full Mamba mode in the first quarter of this one, scoring 15 of his 20 first half points in the opening period. But Washington decided to place Paul Pierce on Bryant in the second half, which proved to be a valuable plan as Bryant missed all seven of his field-goal attempts in the second half. John Wall was a blur with the ball, per usual, driving and kicking and running the break with ease en route to 17 points and 15 assists. His buddy Brad Beal shot the ball tremendously, finishing with 27 and 7. Marcin Gortat continued to run the pick and roll beautifully alongside Wall, as the Polish Hammer posted 21 and 11. Pierce (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Rasual Butler (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) provided much-needed production from the small forward position. The Truth injured his big toe in the third quarter and is now listed day-to-day.

Kobe eventually went on to score 29 on 8-22 shooting. The story for Los Angeles was no different than any other loss this season; Bryant shot the ball—a lot—and for the most part got no help from teammates. Jeremy Lin put up another donut scoring-wise on 0-10 from the field. Nick Young dropped 21 points including five threes, but no one besides Swaggy P could figure it out offensively as the Lakers dropped their 14th game of the season.

Celtics (5-11) 109, Pistons (3-16) 102

Jeff Green dropped 32 points and 5 rebounds as the Celtics handed Detroit its 10th loss in a row. The Pistons fought back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to send the game to overtime but couldn’t finish the job despite a monster night from Andre Drummond, which consisted of 27 points, 14 boards, 5 blocks and 4 steals. Jared Sullinger put up 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals, while Kelly Olynyk was solid with 20 points, 7 boards and 2 steals of his own. Brandon Jennings went 0-11 from the field, scoring just a single point yet dishing out 12 assists. Josh Smith went for 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Nets (8-9) 95, Spurs (13-5) 93

Danny Green (20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) hit six three-pointers including the game-tying longball with 2.4 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. But the Nets regained control in overtime to beat the defending champions and earn their eighth win of the season. Mirza Teletovic led the way for BK with 26 points and 15 rebounds, but the play of Brook Lopez, Deron Williams and Bokan Bogdanovic were also crucial in the rare victory over San Antonio. The Spurs came out of the gate looking sloppy and out of sync against the Nets, who were without Kevin Garnett (by the way, have we seen the last of Duncan vs KG?). Tony Parker played limited minutes coming off an injury and struggled to find his shot. Kawhi Leonard shot just 4-16 from the field, managing 12 points and 13 boards. Manu Ginobili had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists but missed a potential game-winning three in overtime.

Hawks (11-6) 112, Heat (9-9) 102

Atlanta shot 54 percent from the field against the Heat to come up with its sixth win in seven games. Jeff Teague is having a career year and had another stellar outing last night; the sixth-year point guard finished with 27 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in 34 minutes. Paul Millsap (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), Kyle Korver (18 points, 6 rebounds) and Dennis Schroder (16 points off the bench) all contributed mightily for the surging Hawks. The Heat are headed in the opposite direction, now losers of six of eight at home and 9-9 on the year. Erik Spoelstra inserted Josh McRoberts into the starting lineup in an attempt to shake things up a bit, but to no avail. A combined 74 points from Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers weren’t enough to dismantle Teague, Millsap and company.

Rockets (14-4) 105, Grizzlies (15-3) 96

In one of the night’s juicier matchups between two legitimate Western Conference contenders, James Harden (21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) got the best of Memphis’ stingy defense to propel Howard-less Houston to victory. Trevor Ariza came up big with 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals, Jason Terry had himself a throwback game with 16 points, 6 assists and 4 steals, and rookie Tarik Black had a double-double in his hometown. Mike Conley was the high scorer for the Grizz with 15, as Z-Bo and Marc Gasol were invisible on offense, combining for just 16 on the night.

Mavericks (15-5) 107, Bucks (10-10) 105

Dirk who?

The 7-footer was given the night off against Milwaukee, but it was no issue for Dallas as Monta Ellis came up clutch for the second night in a row. After scoring 5 points in 4 seconds to send Tuesday night’s battle with Chicago to overtime—an eventual W for the Mavs—Ellis came up with more magic against the Bucks, hitting a game-winning, spin-move, fallaway jumper at the buzzer. That bucket was the icing on the cake for Monta’s 23-point, 7-assist, 3-steal performance, but his teammates got it done, as well. Tyson Chandler is quietly having one of his best years ever and kept up his play with 18 points and 20 rebounds; Chandler Parsons added 14 points and 8 boards. Brandon Knight has been the Bucks’ MVP and posted another terrific statline with 25 points, 6 boards and 5 assists. Meanwhile, Khris Middleton had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench.

Sixers (1-17) 85, Timberwolves (4-13) 77

Rejoice, Philly. Your team is still really, really, really freaking awful, but at least you won’t go down in the record books. Michael Carter-Williams bordered on a triple double with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals as the Sixers finally broke out of their 17-game slump, depression, abomination—whatever you wanna call it. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and KJ McDaniels each pitched in with 12 points and 9 rebounds and Robert Covington added 19.

For Minnesota, it’s a tough L to swallow. Gorgui Dieng put up big numbers with 15 points and 16 boards and Mo Williams posted 14 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, but the time was simply right for Philly to get a win. The Sixers will host OKC on Friday—anyone smell a two-game win streak? Um, yeah, I’ll go ahead and say with certainty that it won’t happen now that KD and Russ are both back…

Raptors (15-4) 123, Jazz (5-14) 104

DeMar DeRozan’s injury is concerning for the Raptors to say the least, but after a small sample size of games without their star player, it looks as if Toronto might be able to weather the storm the rest of the season thanks to its well-rounded, high-powered offense. One thing is clear: Kyle Lowry is going to be shooting a lot more than normal. Last night, he went 13-22 from the field for a season-high 39 points, while Greivis Vasquez stepped up for 18/5/4 and Lou Williams provided 17 off the bench. Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter were forces in the paint, with 19/6/5 and 19/9 respectively for Utah in the loss. Trey Burke dropped 15 points and 5 dimes.

Clippers (13-5) 114, Magic (7-14) 86

This one was a blowout from start to finish—the Clips obliterated the injury ridden Magic thanks to Lob City’s trusty duo of Chris Paul (19 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds) and Blake Griffin (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists). Blake and CP3 sat out the entire fourth quarter, which tells you about as much as you need to know. JJ Redick, DeAndre Jordan and Matt Barnes all played significant roles in L.A.’s 13th win of the season, while Tobias Harris (16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) was Orlando’s only real factor.

Kobe becomes the first player in NBA history to score 30.000 points and dish out 6,000 assists.

Per the LA Daily News:

“It’s a huge huge honor,” Bryant said. “It means I pass more than people say.”

“He’s just an amazing basketball player. That’s the bottom line. He’s had an unbelievable career. He’s still going pretty strong,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “There’s a lot left in that tank, it’s obvious. His accomplishments are just fantastic. To watch him continue to compete the way that he does at this level is remarkable.”

Coming off a game in which he scored a season-low 12 points, Blake Griffin got his mojo back in the Clippers’ Monday night match-up against the Hornets. Griffin recorded his season-high in rebounds (16) in addition to scoring 22 points. All-Star teammate, Chris Paul (22 points and 15 assists), put up a nifty double-double himself. He also got crossed up pretty bad, courtesy of Charlotte’s Kemba Walker (15 points and 6 assists):

But Kemba wasn’t the leading man for the Hornets. Cody Zeller, who saw a career-high scoring night (17 points) off the bench, had the hot hand on 5-7 shooting. When all was said and done however, Los Angeles was successful in giving Charlotte their sixth loss in a row.

Cavaliers 106 (6-7), Magic 74 (6-10)

Remember how LeBron said he wasn’t doing his job and that he stinks? Well, um…that wasn’t the case last night at all. The Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Orlando Magic at the Q and blew ‘em outta there, ending their four-game losing streak. In the first quarter alone, James (29 points, 11 assists, 3 steals) had 16 points—the same number of points the entire Magic team scored in the opening and final periods. The Cavs’ lead extended to 33 at its peak, and they beat the Magic on fast break points 21-6. The Magic, who lost their second consecutive game, were led by Victor Oladipo (22 points and 9 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (18 points and 13 rebounds). They’ll look to bounce back Wednesday when they host the Golden State Warriors.

Trail Blazers 114 (11-3), Sixers 104 (0-14)

When we’ll see the Philadelphia 76ers’ first win…we’ll just never know. When we’ll see the Trail Blazers lose to break their current eight-game winning streak…we’ll also never know. The Sixers led by 2 at halftime last night, and built their advantage up to 6 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Not soon after, the Blazers woke up and went on a 28-10 run. LaMarcus Aldridge (33 points and 11 rebounds) recorded 15 in the third to lead the Blazers in scoring their 39 points compared to the home team’s 28 in the quarter. It was a night of many points in the paint—70 of Philly’s points came from inside, which makes sense considering they were cold from the arc, 0-8. There’s always the next one…

Raptors 104 (12-2), Suns 100 (9-6)

The Raps continue to quietly dominate the NBA from The North. Currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference, and tied for the best record in the League, yeah um, HELLO TORONTO! Right from the start Toronto showed their prowess, led by center Jonas Valanciunas (27 points and 11 rebounds), who scored 15 points in the first quarter on a perfect 5-5. They headed into the locker room up by 6 and continued the solid play in the third to build a 17-point lead. The Suns vowed not to be put away so easily, however. They went on a 14-0 run early in the fourth quarter, made possible by an Eric Bledsoe (25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) 3-pointer, a Markieff Morris (17 points and 8 rebounds) dunk, and another three 3-pointers from Isaiah Thomas (16 points). With 34.6 seconds left on the clock and the game tied, Patrick Patterson hit two clutch free throws—his only 2 points of the night—to put the Raptors up 100-98. Kyle Lowry (14 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals) spoiled the Suns’ attempt to tie the game, leading to a jump ball that the Raps controlled. After that, a game of fouling and hitting free throws persisted, and Toronto improved to 12-2, as the Suns fell to 9-6.

Rockets 91 (11-3), Knicks 86 (4-11)

It was all James Harden (36 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) at the Toyota Center yesterday night. He led his Dwight-less Rockets to W over the visiting Knicks. Harden scored 14 points in the first half and 12 in the last five minutes of the game to help Houston close the game on a 19-4 run. The Knicks were Melo-less in the latter half—Carmelo Anthony (14 points and 7 rebounds) headed to the locker room before the second quarter ended due to back spasms, but of course, he was still New York’s leading scorer. The Knicks attempted to foul the Rockets three times in the final seconds, but the referees called nothing. Mike Breen noted that although calling the fouls in this particular situation wouldn’t change the end result, that doesn’t mean refs should ignore what’s going on right in front of them.

Pacers 111 (6-8), Mavericks 100 (10-5)

Another night, another milestone for Dirk Nowitzki. With a classic J in the Mavericks’ first quarter last night against the visiting Pacers, Dirk (22 points and 11 rebounds) passed Oscar Robertson for the No. 16 spot on the all-time made field goals list. Despite the feat, the Mavs lost their second home game of the season, allowing 111 points to the team ranked 28 in offense. The arc helped the Pacers a lot—they shot 50 percent from downtown, hitting 13-26. Donald Sloan (29 points and 5 assists) helped the Pacers a lot too, putting up game-high numbers on the road.

Bulls 97 (9-5), Jazz 95 (5-10)

Chicago opened their road match against Utah by outscoring their opponents 30-14 with both Pau Gasol (23 points and 9 rebounds) and Derrick Rose (18 points and 5 assists) in the starting lineup. They had a 21-point lead in the second quarter over the home team, but the Jazz weren’t having any of that. They rallied big time, outscoring the Bulls 36-22 in the third quarter to eventually take their first lead in the fourth. Also in the fourth, this powerful move by Enes Kanter (19 points and 8 rebounds):

The Suns earned their first four-game winning streak of the season behind another big game from Gerald Green (23 points, 5-9 on 3-pointers) and Isaiah Thomas (16 points). These two have been the staple of the Suns bench, providing instance offense when the starters need a breather. The Pacers, still struggling to get their roster healthy, had another rough shooting night. If you take away Soloman Hill’s (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) shooting performance, the Pacers starters shot 6-26 (23.1 percent) from the field. Phoenix used a quick 7-0 run early in the third, behind strong play from Markieff Morris (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) and Marcus Morris (6 points, 2 blocks), to put this game out of reach for good.

Heat 99 (7-6), Magic 92 (6-9)

Dwyane Wade (hamstring) might have missed his fifth straight game, but Chris Bosh (32 points, 10 rebounds, 13-20 from the field) and Mario Chalmers (24 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 10-16 from the field) used efficient shooting to take down the Magic and spoil Nikola Vucevic’s (33 points, 17 rebounds) monstrous night. Even though Orlando probably won’t end up competing for a playoff spot, Vucevic should receive some legitimate consideration for the All-Star game if he keeps up this level of play. The Magic, who were without leading scorer Tobias Harris (calf), kept up with the Heat most of the night and had the game knotted 77-77. The Heat, though, then went on a 14-4 run in which Bosh and Chalmers scored all 14 points and helped Miami lead the game the rest of the way. As a team, the Heat shot 52.1 percent from the field.

Raptors 110 (11-2), Cavaliers 93 (5-7)

Lou Williams (career-high 36 points, +37) has always been a solid scoring punch off the bench for most of the teams he’s been on during his nine-year career. Saturday night, Williams turned into a prolific scorer and creator as he torched the Cleveland perimeter and interior defense. The Cavaliers started this game fast, as Kevin Love (23 points, 7 rebounds) picked up more points in the first quarter (10) than he had in all of his previous game. But after Cleveland took a 34-21 lead into the second quarter, guards Williams, Kyle Lowry (23 points, 8 assists) and DeMar DeRozan (20 points, 5 rebounds) helped the Raptors take control and build an 85-71 lead into the final quarter. LeBron James (15 points, 10 assists) remained active offensively but didn’t have much of any impact on the boards unlike his teammates Anderson Varejao (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Tristan Thompson (11 points, 7 rebounds). The Cavs just had a lack of offensive rhythm (again) in the third quarter, when they only managed to put up 17 points. Yes, it’s early, but there are some glaring problems with this star-studded Cavs team. All the while, the Raptors have established themselves as a clear contender in the East.

Knicks 91 (4-10), 76ers 83 (0-13)

A game that would historically be a good matchup between two elite teams was a showdown between two of the bottom feeders. As bad as the Knicks have been, they had something the Sixers won’t have for a while–an elite player named Carmelo Anthony (25 points, 7 rebounds). Every time the Sixers seemed to be creeping back into this game, Melo had an answer. He also had some help from his power forwards Amare Stoudemire (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Quincy Acy (10 points, 5 rebounds). Former No. 1 pick Nerlens Noel (season-high 17 points, season-high 12 rebounds) had possibly the best game of his young career, even though he struggled from the free throw line. Noel got help from Hollis Thompson (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Robert Covington (14 points, 4 rebounds) but not much else otherwise. As a team, the Sixers shot 40 percent from the field while the Knicks shot 50.0 percent.

Rockets 95 (10-3), Mavericks 92 (10-4)

This Texas showdown might have featured two of the West’s best and a Mavs team that came into this winners of their last six games. However, these two foes both shot themselves in the foot multiple times throughout this match and also both shot below 40 percent from the field. The deciding play came on a 3-point play by James Harden (32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals), as Chandler Parsons (8 points, 8 rebounds) was moving while trying to draw a charge. That and-one gave Houston a 93-92 lead with 28.2 seconds remaining. On the next possession, Monta Ellis (17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) went up in the air without knowing what he was doing with the ball, causing him to arrantly pass it behind him and allowing Harden to come up with the steal to seal the game. After the Mavs had dug themselves in a 73-55 hole by trying to match Houston’s style of 3-point shooting offense, that exact method gave Dallas a chance to get back in this game–which they did. The Rockets suddenly couldn’t seem to buy a 3-pointer in the second half, while Brandan Wright (14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Tyson Chandler (13 points, 13 rebounds) started to take advantage of the absence of Dwight Howard (knee). The Mavs actually led 88-82 with 2:55 to go but made far too many mistakes down the stretch. Parsons missed some crucial free throws late in this one and Dirk Nowitzki (11 points, 0-8 on 3-pointers) never found his shot. By the end of the game, the Rockets shot a ridiculous 46 3-pointers on the night, making 15 of them. The Mavs shot an inefficient 6-35 (17.1 percent) on their treys. One thing was certainly made clear after this gritty battle–these two Texas teams don’t like any part of the other. An entertaining rivalry is brewing.

Kings 113 (8-5), Timberwolves 101 (3-9)

DeMarcus Cousins (31 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks, 11-15 from the field) continues his dominating season night in and night out. On a night when his teammates seemed sluggish most of the night against an injury-ridden Timberwolves team, Cousins remained the stable force who knows how to have an impact on both sides of the floor. He now has at least 22 points, 12 rebounds and a block in each of his past three games. For the Timberwolves, Mo Williams (11 points, 12 assists) and Gorgui Dieng (12 points, 10 rebounds) each picked up a double-double while Andrew Wiggins (career-high 29 points, 4 steals) had the best scoring performance in his young career. He didn’t come out of the game until seven minutes into the second quarter. It was in the third quarter, though, when the Kings took control of this game by outscoring Minnesota 36-25. Ben McLemore (22 points, 9 rebounds, 4-9 on 3-pointers) played a key role during this time period, scoring 11 of his team’s first 24 points to start the third. Darren Collison (19 points, 7 assists) and Rudy Gay (14 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds) acted as the distributors on the night. One of the main disparities in this one came down low as the Kings outrebounded the Wolves 50-37.

Wizards 111 (9-3), Bucks 100 (7-7)

This Washington roster is filled with young, growing talent led by John Wall (19 points, 9 assists, 5 steals) and Bradley Beal (17 points, 6 assists). They took down Brandon Knight (27 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and the Bucks, though, because of their new veteran wingman they signed this offseason. Paul Pierce (25 points, 10 rebounds, 4-5 on 3-pointers) looked fantastic in his best game since joining the Wizards. As he has been doing his entire career, The Truth drilled some critical jumpers late in this one when Milwaukee started to creep closer. After the Bucks had fought back behind strong play from Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo (20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) and only trailed 104-97 with 2:13 left in the game, Pierce killed the Bucks’ momentum and nailed a 19-foot jumper as the shot clock expired to push the lead back to nine. As promising as Milwaukee has been early on, they still lack a strong presence down low, as Marcin Gortat (10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and the Wizards outrebounded the Bucks 53-36. If they want to fix this issue, Larry Sanders (5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, 19 minutes) needs to figure out his place on Jason Kidd’s team.

Spurs 99 (9-4), Nets 87 (5-8)

Tony Parker (22 points, 7 assists) had his second straight strong performance while received a boost from the young guys in Kawhi Leonard (21 points, 9 rebounds) and Danny Green (21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5-7 on 3-pointers). The Spurs are finally starting to show glimpses of the machine that won the NBA Finals in five games last season, dishing out 16 assists on their first 20 buckets and outscoring the Nets 54-34 in the paint. Brooklyn’s shooting woes continued as they shot 37.4 percent from the field and Joe Johnson (12 points, 5 assists, 5-16 from the field) kept firing away. Deron Williams (24 points, 7 assists) and Mirza Teletovic (22 points, 8 rebounds) were the only other Nets players in double-figures. Brooklyn only managed 36 points by halftime, trailing by 15 points. Both of these teams get a long three-day break before getting back into action Wednesday night.

Pelicans 106 (7-5), Jazz 94 (5-9)

Anthony Davis (career-high 43 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) was an absolute terror for the young Jazz Saturday night, scoring in a multitude of ways and knocking down almost all of his free throws. The Unibrow is one of those players who can get in a dominating zone, becoming unstoppable against practically all players in the League. He easily and deservingly overshadowed Gordon Hayward’s (31 points, 8 rebounds) big night. Jrue Holiday (19 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds) gave his center just enough offensive help to push the Pelicans forward for their seventh win of the season. For Utah, Trey Burke (20 points, 4 assists) showed Jazz fans a Trey Burke they have rarely seen since he was drafted. Before this game, Burke was shooting 32 percent from the field and 26.7 percent on 3-pointers. He made eight of his 12 field goals attempts, including two of his five shots from deep. The Jazz will need more of that type of efficiency from their point guard if they want to find some sort of success on the year.

The Hornets continued to struggle holding large leads Friday night, failing to close this one out after having a 23-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Magic, though, climbed their way out of that hole thanks to strong performances from Evan Fournier (21 points, 7-12 from the field), who returned from from his left heel injury. Elfrid Payton (16 points, 5 assists) showed great maturity again and Willie Green (9 points, 5 rebounds) provided a huge spark in the final 12 minutes, in which he scored all his points. The duo of Tobias Harris (17 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Nikola Vucevic (14 points, 10 rebounds) seems to be coming together quite nicely, as this team has found success when these two find their rhythm. The Hornets simply go through too many lulls without any scoring, even with Al Jefferson (24 points, 11 rebounds) being the source of their offense down low. In Friday’s loss, the defense became the issue as Orlando outscored Charlotte 41-21 in the fourth quarter. The Hornets have now lost a season-high four straight games and six of the last seven.

Suns 122 (8-5), 76ers 96 (0-12)

Nothing unexpected in this one. The Sixers actually led 27-26 at the end of the first quarter behind balanced scoring. However, the Suns used a 33-8 blitz over the span of nine minutes in the second quarter to take command for good. The Sixers came into the league shooting a League-worse 40.2 percent from the field and actually shot 46.2 percent Friday night. However, they struggled at the line, shooting 20-33 (60.6 percent) while the Suns shot 21-23 (91.3 percent). Phoenix brought balanced scoring the entire night, as Isaiah Thomas (23 points, 8 assists, 3 steals) led eight Suns who were in double figures. If the Sixers lose four more in a row, they will top the 1972-73 Philadelphia team that went 0-15 for the worst start in team history. That season, the Sixers went 9-73–the worst record in NBA history.

Hawks 99 (6-5), Pistons 89 (3-10)

Jeff Teague (28 points, 6 assists, +26) has been playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, and Friday night was no exception. The Hawks point guard did it on both ends of the floor, being the catalyst that helped Atlanta hand Detroit its fourth straight loss and tenth of the season. Andre Drummond (13 points, 16 rebounds) notched a double-double while Josh Smith (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-19 from the field) faced off against his former team and continued taking bad shots as he has been doing all season. J-Smoove is currently shooting 37.4 percent from the field and 19.0 percent on 3-pointers. The Hawks got back starting forward DeMarre Carroll (10 points, 7 rebounds) after he had missed the previous four due to a strained groin. He brought his usual strong wing defense. After trailing by 19 earlier in the game, the Pistons cut the deficit to 84-80 with 5:37 to go after Drummond (surprisingly) made two free throws. The Hawks, though, used a quick 10-4 run to put this game away and move back above .500.

Raptors 124 (10-2), Bucks 83 (7-6)

The Bucks came into this game seeking a third straight road win for the first time in two years, but the Raptors quickly showed the difference between a hot team and elite team. Behind strong guard play from Kyle Lowry (20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Lou Williams (22 points, 5-7 on 3-pointers) along with a double-double from Jonas Valanciunas (18 points, 12 rebounds), the Raptors exploded out to a 116-64 midway through the fourth quarter as everything was clicking offensively. They shot 52.3 percent from the field while the Bucks only shot 36.5 percent. This Toronto team seems to have the identity, drive and leadership necessary to compete for a championship. Even with Milwaukee’s potential, Jabari Parker (15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and his teammates are still very young and bound to occasionally have these no shows through the regular season.

Grizzlies 117 (11-2), Celtics 100 (4-7)

The Grizzlies seem to be fighting through their team-wide stomach virus as only Tony Allen and Quincy Pondexter sat out Friday’s game. They didn’t have many problems putting away the Celtics due to Marc Gasol (career-high 32 points, 8 rebounds) showing superior low-post play all night long. When Gasol is this prolific on the offensive end of the court, Zach Randolph (16 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists) is gobbling up rebounds and Jon Leuer (season-high 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) comes out of nowhere with his scoring, there’s not much the opponent can do. Memphis pounded the ball down low, outscoring Boston 66-38 in the paint. Kelly Okynyk (18 points, 6 rebounds) led the Celtics in scoring as Rajon Rondo (4 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds) had one of his worst performances of the season. Memphis has yet to lose a regular season home game since this past February.

Spurs 121 (8-4), Timberwolves 92 (3-8)

Tony Parker (28 points, 5 assists, 12-18 from the field) quickly put up his game-high and efficient 28 points in only 25 minutes against a severely shorthanded Timberwolves team. The bright spot for Minnesota had to be Anthony Bennett (20 points, 3 steals), who easily set a career high in points and remained active during his 32 minutes. He just didn’t have enough healthy teammates, as the Timberwolves were without Kevin Martin (wrist), Rubio (ankle), Pekovic (wrist), Young (mother’s death) and Ronny Turiaf (hip). The Spurs were without Tiago Splitter (calf), Marco Belinelli (groin), Matt Bonner (illness) and Patty Mills (shoulder), but they clearly have a solidified system and received nice contributions from young big men Aron Baynes (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Austin Daye (13 points, 11 rebounds). The Spurs had a 26-16 advantage in terms of assists and outrebounded the Wolves 53-34.

Nets 94 (5-7), Thunder 92 (3-11)

The rare close game on the night turned out to be yet another loss for the Thunder, despite a big game from Reggie Jackson (21 points, 8 assists). The young guard, though, couldn’t sink a potential game-winning deep ball at the buzzer, showing his disappointment in the locker room after the game. Jackson also couldn’t contain the Nets two veteran point guards in Deron Williams (17 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds) and Jarrett Jack (23 points, 5 assists). These two hit some tough shots and sank some crucial free throws in the closing quarter when the Nets turned a three-point deficit to start into a two-point win. Serge Ibaka (16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) earned another double-double but struggled covering Mirza Teletovic (13 points, 7 rebounds) and Brook Lopez (16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks). Brooklyn was great at the line, shooting 27-30 (90 percent). The Nets now have to travel to play the Spurs in San Antonio Saturday night.

Wizards 91 (8-3), Cavaliers 78 (5-6)

LeBron James (22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) is simply not defending this season with the same attention to detail that has made him a superior defender. Friday night, there were times when James didn’t get back and forced a 4-on-5 for his teammates. On top of this, Kevin Love (8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 turnovers) didn’t reach double-digits in points or rebounds, which seems unheard of for the power forward. And Kyrie Irving (22 points, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 0-6 on 3-pointers) could not find his touch from deep, while John Wall (28 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) torched the Team USA point guard in the third quarter when Washington took this game over. Paul Pierce (9 points, 5 rebounds) played fantastic defense on LeBron, keeping him to 1-8 shooting and three points when guarding him. Thanks to 23 strong minutes from Kevin Seraphin (12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks), the Wizards bench player helped his team outscore the Cavaliers 50-34 in the paint. Cleveland only managed 13 total assists in the game. James is now under .500 more than 10 games into a season for the first time in six years. Now they have to host one of the East’s elite teams, the Raptors, Saturday night.

Mavericks 140 (10-3), Lakers 106 (3-10)

At first glance, this final score seems unfathomable. Then when it’s established that this was the League’s best offense going up against the League’s worst defense, it all makes sense. Dirk Nowitzki (23 points, 8-10 from the field), Tyson Chandler (5 points, 4 rebounds) and the rest of the starters received some valuable rest as no one played more than 29 minutes. Monta Ellis (20 points, 10 assists, 3-4 on 3-pointers) sparked another big run for the Mavs, this time in the third quarter when Dallas extended a five-point lead to a 38-point spread as they poured in 42 points–a season-high for any quarter. This is the fifth time on the year that Dallas has held a 30+ point lead. Eight Mavericks finished in double-figures, and as a team, they had 37 assists. Kobe Bryant (17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 6-22 from the field) had another rough shooting night while Jordan Hill (16 points, 10 rebounds) picked up his fifth consecutive double-double. However, not a single Lakers player gave the Mavs any sort of resistance, allowing them to shoot 62.2 percent from the field and 51.4 percent on 3-pointers. The 18 treys Dallas knocked down is tied for a franchise record. To give a perfect example of this team’s depth, this was the first time on the year that Nowitzki, Ellis and Chandler Parsons (21 points) all reached 20 points in the same game. That’s simply because this team has so many weapons and players step up from night to night. Winners of six straight, the Mavs tied their American Airlines record for points in a game. The last time they reached 140 points was on April 5, 2009 against the Phoenix Suns. NBA TV has a big-time Texas showdown Saturday night as Dallas travels south to play Chandler Parsons’ former team–the Houston Rockets.

Nuggets 117 (5-7), Pelicans 97 (6-5)

Both of these teams came into this game winners of three of their last four as the Pelicans were averaging 111.8 points during that stretch. With Anthony Davis (18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 7-17 from the field) coming back down to earth and Ryan Anderson (10 points, 2-11 from the field, 0-5 on 3-pointers) losing his touch for the night, the Nuggets held the Pelicans to 39.7 percent from the field as they shot 52.4 percent. The Pelicans also came into this game leading the League with 49.8 points in the paint per game. But thanks to some big games from Kenneth Faried (19 points, 8 rebounds) and JaVale McGee (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 6-6 from the field, 18 minutes), the Nuggets outscored them down low 52-32. Denver won the four quarters by 5, 5, 3 and 7–incrementally building their lead into a 20-point victory. Arron Afflalo (19 points), Danilo Gallinari (17 points, 3-4 on 3-pointers) and Wilson Chandler (18 points, 3-4 on 3-pointers) also played their part, showing that this Nuggets team might not be as bad as we though five games ago.

Warriors 101 (9-2), Jazz 88 (5-8)

The Warriors had won three straight games before taking four days off prior to Friday’s game against the Jazz. Their fresh legs certainly showed as Andre Iguodala (17 points, 7-8 from the field) and the Warriors built up a 30-point lead before the final quarter even began. Stephen Curry (8 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds) didn’t light it up offensively but got his teammates involved–especially Mareese Speights (14 points, 16 minutes). The big guy has been playing really well of late and reached double-digits in four of his last five games. Harrison Barnes (14 points, 11 rebounds) added his first double-double of the season. Utah’s frontline of Enes Kanter (18 points, 8-10 from the field), Derrick Favors (10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks), Gordon Hayward (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (career-high 12 points, 2 blocks, 6-7 from the field) pulled their weight but had too much on their shoulders against a hot Warriors team.

Blazers 105 (9-3), Bulls 87 (8-5)

If it was bad enough being without Derrick Rose (hamstring) and Pau Gasol (calf), Kirk Hinrich (chest contusion) wasn’t able to suit up for Friday’s game. The absence of Chicago’s top two point guards might have given Damian Lillard (21 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds) the green light to take this game over before it got out of hand. In the first quarter, Lillard acted as the distributor and dished out seven assists in the first 12 minutes. During the second quarter, Portland’s point guard scored 10 of his 21 points, helping the Blazers build a 61-43 lead. While the Bulls lost another player, the Blazers regained Nicolas Batum (9 points, 3 rebounds) as he returned from a bruised right knee. It could be getting worse for the Bulls since Taj Gibson (7 points, 5 rebounds) had to leave the game in the third quarter after awkwardly twisting his ankle on Wesley Matthews’ (12 points, 4 assists) foot. The silver lining for Chicago had to be Nikola Mirotic (career-high 24 points, career-high 11 rebounds, 4-7 on 3-pointers), who gave Bulls fans a glimpse of what he could grow into. With the win, the Blazers have now won six straight and remain tied with the Mavericks for the longest current streak in the League. Those two teams don’t play each other again until February 7.

This was a back-and-forth, high-intensity game featuring two teams that have a good chance to make it very deep into the playoffs when May rolls around. However, the final handful of possessions showed that at this moment, only one of these two teams already has their chemistry and late-game execution close to figured out. After Cory Joseph (10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds) closed out the third quarter strong, San Antonio held a slim 72-69 lead. LeBron James (15 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 turnovers) had been doing his best to get his teammates involved, including Anderson Varejao (23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks), who showed a nice touch around the rim on the night. The fourth quarter remained a tight one, as neither team led by more than three points from 9:48 left until the final buzzer sounded. The final 2:35 is where the Spurs took this one. After a Boris Diaw (19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) missed 3-point shot with 2:36 remaining, the Cavs had an 86-85 lead and a chance to extend their lead to three or four points. However, they couldn’t capitalize on not one, not two but three opportunities as James snatched two offensive rebounds on the possession. Tim Duncan (19 points, 10 rebounds) would make them pay by easily placing in a turnaround bank shot to put his team back in front. Manu Ginobili (7 points, 5 assists) would later flip one in after two nice touches from Tony Parker (8 points, 3 assists) and Duncan to put the Spurs up 91-88. This was one of those plays where all three of San Antonio’s stars knew exactly where their teammates would be. Due to a Ginobili missed free throw, though, the Cavs had one more chance. LeBron went behind his back and consequently lost the handle of the ball, turning it over and giving the game to the Spurs. James’ and Kevin Love’s (10 points, 11 rebounds) shooting woes continued Wednesday night, as these two combined to shoot 10-29 (34.5 percent) from the field. Their team’s rhythm just isn’t there right now, but we all have to assume they will figure it out as the season moves along.

Pacers 88 (5-7), Hornets 86 (4-8)

Lance Stephenson (10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) went back to where his career started for the first time since he took his talents to Charlotte, but Wednesday turned out to be all about one of the players who is trying to fill the void Born Ready left behind. Even though Rodney Stuckey (11 points) clearly was going to take the last shot for the win, Solomon Hill (6 points, 5 rebounds) wasn’t content with ball watching. As Stuckey stepped back for a potential game-winner, Hill snuck baseline, grabbed an air-ball in midair and tossed it in as the buzzer sounded to give his Pacers the victory. Before the late-game heroics, the Hornets squandered a 15-point, second-quarter lead because of their disappearing offense and strong play from Roy Hibbert (18 points, 11 rebounds). As strong as the defense has been and will be, Charlotte allows too many minutes to go by without scoring any points. Al Jefferson (28 points, 8 rebounds) is certainly Steve Clifford’s offensive anchor, but at sometimes Kemba Walker (12 points, 7 assists) and Stephenson over dribble or fail to make the simple pass. And with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (foot) and Gary Neal (concussion) sidelined against the Pacers, Gerald Henderson (0 points, 23 minutes) filled part of this void and put up an offensive dud. This is already the fourth time this season Henderson has been held scoreless…that can’t happen if Charlotte wants to make another playoff run. Clifford will make this team play defense, but they need to find some sort of an offensive rhythm. Once Stephenson inevitably settles in to his new role, the offensive should somewhat come around.

Clippers 114 (6-4), Magic 90 (5-8)

Los Angeles won all four quarters in this one, slowly but surely pulling away to an easy 24-point victory. The Clippers, who were starting this brutal road trip of seven road games in 11 days, didn’t even need their starters to play in the fourth quarter. Chris Paul (16 points, 9 assists, 8-13 from the field) was efficient with his shooting and passing, Blake Griffin (20 points) muscled his way to another 20-point performance and Jamal Crawford (22 points, 8-12 from the field) had one of those nights when he couldn’t miss from anywhere on the court. When Crawford finds his touch, he becomes the small forward this team desperately needs in their lineup. With Evan Fournier (heel) out, the Magic missed his scoring and ball distribution while only shooting 39.5 percent from the field. Tobias Harris (25 points, 2-2 on 3-pointers) had a solid showing and Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 14 rebounds) notched his usual double-double but barely had an impact in the second half. Even though they played with their usual rapid pace, the Clippers played smart basketball, only turning the ball over seven times.

Celtics 101 (4-6), 76ers 90 (0-11)

The Sixers played two good quarter of basketball going into the halftime with a tie and seemed like they might have a chance to pick up that elusive first win of the season. The Celtics, though, weren’t about to lose their fourth straight as Rajon Rondo (9 points, 13 assists), Jared Sullinger (22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) and Brandon Bass (23 points, 6 rebounds, 9-13 from the field) all played key roles in leading Boston to the double-digit victory. Bass, specifically, lived on the baseline and accepted pass after pass from Rondo. Tony Wroten (21 points, 7 assists) led the Sixers in scoring again as now starting point guard Michael Carter-Williams (11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers) only has one more assist than turnover in his first four games of the season (19 assists, 18 turnovers). Boston has struggled defensively this season, but the Sixers helped with that issue, as they scored a season-low 90 points on the Celtics.

Mavericks 105 (9-3), Wizards 102 (7-3)

The Mavs came into this game winners of their last four while the Wizards had won their last three. Both these teams had their cores return from last season while adding key small forwards. Dallas was able to pick up the road victory, though, due to a certain German power forward who did what he’s been doing since he entered the league. After a closely contested game with neither team leading by more than 10 points, Dirk Nowitzki (13 points, 3-4 on 3-pointers) twisted his left ankle after accidentally stepping on the back of Kris Humphries’ (9 points, 6 rebounds) shoe. But if you haven’t heard before, Dirk’s ankles are practically rubber at this point in his career. After getting his ankles taped in the locker room, he returned and drilled a critical 3-point dagger that extended the Mavericks lead from a two points to 102-97. The Wizards would cut it back down to three points after Bradley Beal (21 points, 3-6 on 3-pointers)–who looked good in his first game back–made a driving layup. Monta Ellis (34 points, 12-14 on free throws), though, calmly made a pair of free throws to put this one out of reach for good. Ellis was ridiculous through the first 12 minutes, scoring 18 of his 34 points. With Jameer Nelson (5 points, 2-12 from the field) having an off night, Rick Carlisle handed the reins to J.J. Barea (14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 23 minutes), who played very well down the stretch. (This is a guy who was waived earlier in the season…now he’s playing crunch-time minutes on a 9-3 team.) Big men Tyson Chandler (5 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Brandan Wright (14 points, 6 rebounds, 6-7 from the field) remain a lethal one-two punch down low, acting as pogo sticks on both ends of the court. Through 12 games so far, 12 Mavs have net ratings of +6.9 or higher when on the floor, showing their insane depth. As long as the defense can become more consistent, there is no reason to think the Mavs can’t compete in the West.

Bucks 122 (7-5), Nets 118 (4-7) 3OT

This game was nothing short of a roller coaster. With the Bucks winning their last two to go over .500 and the Nets losers of their last four, Jason Kidd returned to Brooklyn with the brighter future and the better record. These two teams went back and forth early on as neither team led by more than four points midway through the second quarter. Behind some quick baskets from Jarrett Jack (14 points), who had nine of his 14 points in the second quarter, the Nets extended their lead to double-digits. The Bucks rallied in the third thanks to a two-minute scoring drought by Brooklyn that allowed Milwaukee to go on a 9-0 run. By the time the fourth quarter started, this one was back to being a back-and-forth contest as Brook Lopez (26 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) looked good for the Nets throughout Wednesday night. Regulation play finished with a tie thanks to a clutch layup from O.J. Mayo (21 points, 7 rebounds) with 30.4 seconds remaining. As disappointing of a career Mayo has had since the Grizzlies took him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, he seems to be finding a groove and role under Kidd. The first overtime ended with Mayo coming through for his team again, swishing two game-tying free throws with 21.2 seconds remaining. These closing seconds, though, weren’t about Mayo. During the Nets’ final possession of the first overtime, Joe Johnson (18 points, 8 assists) jumped in the air without knowing what he was doing with the ball (which is something a basketball player should never do), allowing Brandon Knight (18 points, 8 assists) to easily steal the ball and head to the other basket with the clock winding down. Knight went up for the right-handed layup he has successfully made thousands of time in his life…and botched the layup. Everyone was shocked, including Kidd, who had to hold back his frustration. As frustrated as the Bucks had to have been with Knight, they trusted him in the second overtime and he came through with a huge 3-point basket with 19.6 seconds left to send this one to a third overtime. And in these final five minutes of free basketball, the Bucks won this game with their defense, holding the Nets to only two field goals. Don’t look now, but Kidd has these young Bucks out to a 7-5 record. Giannis Antetokounmpo (18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists) and Jabari Parker (career-high 23 points, 7 rebounds) are quickly turning into a long, dangerous one-two punch on the wing while there is plenty of depth off the bench. In a conference where at least one team can sneak into the playoffs below .500, don’t discount the possibility of the Bucks finding their way in.

Suns 88 (7-5), Pistons 86 (3-9)

Even though they usually use their up-tempo, fast-paced offense to blitz past the competition, the Suns showed their ability to grind out games defensively. (Granted, it was against the lowly and lost Pistons.) The Suns held Detroit to only 37.9 percent shooting from the field, as well as just 7-25 (28 percent) on 3-pointers. In the ugly victory, Eric Bledsoe (18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) and Goran Dragic (12 points, 4 assists) led the way for the Suns while P.J. Tucker (16 points, 7 rebounds, 6-8 from the field) looked very good in 30 minutes of play. After Dragic nailed a fadeaway jumper with 1:52, Phoenix held a 85-77 lead and looked to be in control. However, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope (15 points, 3 steals) and Brandon Jennings (19 points, 7 assists) made back-to-back-to-back bombs to quickly make this only a one-point deficit. After Bledsoe made a tough layup to put the Suns up by three, they won this game on the other end as Markieff Morris (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) came up with a huge swat on on a Jennings layup attempt to close this one out. Don’t expect the Suns to have consecutive slugfests as they take on the Sixers Friday night.

Raptors 96 (9-2), Grizzlies 92 (10-2)

What a great early matchup between the West’s best team and East’s best team in terms of records. This one didn’t disappoint in any way, even though the Grizzlies were without five of their players due to a stomach virus. Courtney Lee, Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih were all unavailable and spent time at a Toronto hospital Wednesday due to dehydration among other illnesses. The Grizzlies, though, grinding away as they always due, thanks to big-time play from big men Marc Gasol (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Zach Randolph (18 points, 18 rebounds). Mike Conley (19 points, 10 rebounds) also picked up a double-double along with his frontcourt as the Grizzlies controlled the boards 50-35. The Raptors matched this high-level of play with strong play from their guards as Kyle Lowry (18 points, 7 assists), DeMar DeRozan (21 points, 5 rebounds) and Terrence Ross (16 points, 3-6 on 3-pointers) all played their respectives roles. These three scored the final 11 Raptors points, including a clutch fadeaway jumper from Lowry with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Ross had poured in 14 of his 16 points in the final quarter before Lowry took care of business. Lou Williams (13 points, 17 minutes) has quietly been a consistent scoring punch of the bench for Toronto, reaching double-figures in seven of the past eight games. He fills out a very underrated and potent backcourt.

Timberwolves 115 (3-7), Knicks 99 (3-10)

Minnesota came into this game losers of their last five and without starters Ricky Rubio (ankle) and Nikola Pekovic (wrist). However, when you’re going up against the Knicks, anything is possible offensively. Shabazz Muhammad (17 points, 8 rebounds) got the nod for his first career start and he shined in this new role. He was active and flying all over the court, acting as the slasher for the offense. Mo Williams (14 points, 13 assists) easily had his best game of the season as Kevin Martin (37 points, 7-11 on 3-pointers) was on the receiving end of many of Williams’ assists. Martin might have one of the oddest shooting releases in the League, but he certainly makes it work consistently. Even though Martin is a veteran and hasn’t changed the way he plays up to this point in his career, if he rounded out his game just a little bit more, he would become much more highly valued and respected across the NBA. Carmelo Anthony (20 points, 4-5 on 3-pointers) and Amare Stoudemire (19 points) shot very well Wednesday night, but their teammates only managed to shoot 20-50 (40 percent) from the field. Defensively, their was little resistance as they allowed the Timberwolves to post a season-high 64 points in the first half.

Nuggets 107 (4-7), Thunder 100 (3-10)

Four seasons ago, this was an intriguing first-round matchup in the Western Conference playoffs. Now, these two below-.500 teams are still trying to figure out what direction they are headed in this year. Wednesday night, Brian Shaw survived another day in Denver thanks to Ty Lawson (15 points, 15 assists) and Wilson Chandler (21 points, 9 rebounds) having strong performances. Speedy-quick Lawson has shown he can be an elite point guard and Wilson has simply battled with so many injuries the past few years. When these two are clicking offensively, it’s difficult to beat Denver at the Pepsi Center. For the Thunder, Serge Ibaka (22 points, 13 rebounds) posted a double-double while Sebastian Telfair (18 points, 7-7 from the field, 4-4 on 3-pointers) didn’t miss a shot from the field. Reggie Jackson (16 points, 9 assists) might have stuffed the stat sheet, but he did take 20 shots just to get to 16 points. The Nuggets almost let this one get away as OKC cut a 94-81 early fourth-quarter deficit to only 101-98 with 3:19 to go. Chandler and Arron Afflalo (13 points) would make consecutive treys to put the Thunder away for good.

Lakers 98 (3-9), Rockets 92 (9-3)

Swaggy P has arrived to save the day. This might be mostly sarcastic, but the Lakers have suddenly gone 2-0 since Nick Young (16 points, 2 steals) returned from his injury. After L.A. lacked little energy through its first 10 games, Young has provided a spark and simply fun element back into this team. Kobe Bryant (29 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) led the way for the Lakers, having one of his best all-around games of the season. He led the way in a 12-1 run to close out the game by converting a three-point play during the run. The Rockets, who were playing without Dwight Howard (knee), had their chances down the stretch but just couldn’t capitalize. James Harden (24 points, 7 assists, 7-11 from the field) had one of his most efficient games of the season but committed his sixth turnover with 45.9 seconds remaining, which led to a Wesley Johnson (9 points, 2 steals) layup that gave the Lakers the lead. Greek rookie Kostas Papanikolaou (career-high 19 points, 6 rebounds) had a career night in the loss. More than half of the Rockets’ field goal attempts came in the form of 3-pointers (38/74). After averaging 103.3 points in their first eight games, the Rockets have plummeted to only 85.5 in their past four. They have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

On a baseline drive Sunday, DeMar DeRozan improvised against the Philadelphia Sixers’ defense by pirouetting 360 degrees for a spectacular bucket. (Word to Terrence Ross.) DeRozan finished with a game-high

With 33 seconds remaining and the Raptors and Celtics tied at 105, DeMar DeRozan dropped a vicious hammer on top of Kelly Olynyk’s long locks. Boston’s TD Garden crowd fell silent. You could practically hear Kevin Harlan screaming, “He just sucked the gravity right out of the building!”

DeRozan shot just 9-25 from the field in the Raptors’ dramatic 110-107 win at Boston on Wednesday. He still managed to score 23 points, thanks in part to his relentless attempts to get to the foul line. That slam also proved to be the game-winning bucket. Kyle Lowry’s 18-foot jumper with eight seconds left sealed the deal.

“DeRozan and Lowry come at you downhill at 100 miles an hour,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said.

Two years after many skeptics criticized Toronto for extending DeRozan with a four-year, $42 million deal, he’s morphed into an elite scorer in the NBA. As he became an All-Star in 2013-14, DeRozan finished tied with DeMarcus Cousins as the ninth-leading scorer in the League. Today, he might be on one of the league’s biggest bargain contracts.

DeRozan’s most deadly weapon on the offensive end has been that knack for getting to the charity stripe. His 630 free-throw attempts a year ago were good for sixth-best in the NBA. Through five games (excluding Friday night’s festivities) DeRozan ranked fourth in the entire NBA in free-throw attempts at 47, good for 9.4 a game.

“I’m a student of the game and, if you get to the free-throw line, it can make your game that much more efficient,” DeRozan explained. “If you do that every single night, if you’re making 10 or 12 free throws, you can make six field goals and easily have a 22 or 24 point game.”

Outside of that simple logic, the other elements of DeRozan’s game are anomalies in today’s NBA. Last season, he attempted only 210 three-pointers, 106th most in the League.

He’s a maestro of the mid-range; often taking five or six dribbles before cocking the ball above his shoulder, fading away from the basket and launching a 17-foot turnaround over his defender.

Through five games this season, 40.8 percent of his shots have come from 15-19 feet, the zone otherwise known as the anti-Houston Rockets long two.

“I don’t care about analytics at all. I could give a hell about ‘em,” DeRozan said. “I don’t try to base myself off machines, I just try to take advantage of everything within that arc.”

It’s a strategy coach Dwane Casey is comfortable with.

“I know he’s an analytical nightmare, but he’s one of the best mid-range shooters in the League because he does get to the free-throw line,” Casey said. “So it kind of equals itself out and I don’t have to fight with the analytical people all the time.”

Casey reaped the benefits of DeRozan’s developments last season and guided the Raptors to the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He was in turn rewarded with a three-year contract extension in May.

The coach has seen a noticeable difference in his star shooting guard during the start of this campaign as well.

“I thought the USA experience really helped him. His confidence, being around those guys this summer, just seeing how hard guys work, being around Durant and those guys, just taking in all that,” Casey said. “Not only playing with them, but how they prepare themselves, how they approach the game, how they attack the game I think has helped his confidence level so much. He’s getting to where he needs to go with the ball, creating contact, initiating contact is something he didn’t do before but now he’s doing that with confidence.”

In Wednesday night’s win, DeRozan passed Morris Peterson for fourth all-time in scoring in Raptors franchise history. He only trails Andrea Bargnani by 69 points for third.

“His heart and his quiet leadership has been unbelievable,” Casey said. “We’re trying to build something here and he’s a very large part of that.”

Less than 4,000 points shy of Chris Bosh’s franchise record, DeRozan is on track to one day claim that top spot. Casey’s right: Toronto truly is building something special.

The Raptors are considered clear favorites for the Atlantic Division crown and return nearly all of their key contributors from last season’s 48-win club. They’ve added nice contributing pieces in Lou Williams and James Johnson and have rookie Brazilians and best friends Lucas Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo waiting to play their part.

That recipe, along with DeRozan’s prolific rise, will be a nightmare for opponents this season.

“Sometimes that chemistry can beat out a more talented team,” DeRozan said.

Whatever injury hex the Thunder has on it, it refuses to go away. Already down to eight players to start Tuesday night’s game in Toronto, another one went down.

Emerging forward Perry Jones went down with an apparent right knee injury in the third quarter. The team is calling it a right knee contusion. He didn’t return to the game and his status moving forward is unknown.

Evan Turner had to watch his Boston Celtics lose in heartbreaking fashion to the Toronto Raptors from the locker room – the refs kicked Turner out after he tossed a ball at one of them in the third quarter.

Third-year center Jonas Valanciunas is expected to improve by a wide margin this season — the Toronto Raptors want the 22-year old to transform himself into the NBA’s top rim protector.

It certainly won’t be easy.

Amir Johnson is considered the team’s best interior help defender, but the Raptors’ coaching staff is counting big on Jonas.

Per the National Post:

“One of the big focuses for us to advance in the playoffs is that he’s got to be the best rim protector — block shots, [legal] vertical [jumps] and being able to get over to that weak side early on any [dribble] penetration,” said Bill Bayno, the Raptors assistant coach who has worked extensively with Valanciunas. “At times he was great at it last year. … But we want it every night, 82 games.”

“Best in the league,” Bayno clarifies. “We want him to be No. 1 in the NBA. We want that as a goal. Right now, [Pacers centre Roy] Hibbert is the best. We want him chasing Hibbert. If he comes up a little short, hopefully he’s going to be elite, one of the top five in the league.”

The best way to get better in that role is by playing five-on-five basketball, but Valanciunas’s time with the Lithuanian national team was nearly meaningless in that regard. There is no such thing as a defensive three seconds in the key violation in international basketball. […] “You just stand in the middle and cover the ground. If your guy is not shooting from the outside, you can just sit inside the paint and be the shot-blocker,” Valanciunas said. “It’s harder to be on a rotation [in the NBA]. It’s harder to stay in the middle and just wait out guys.”

Enjoying three warm chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven rather than two. Praying with your eyes closed for the official at the scorer’s table to add just one more second to the game clock following a hectic play in the fourth quarter, as the sweat drips down your face and onto the hardwood. Losing a Game 7 in the first NBA Playoffs series of your career 104-103 by a single point on your home floor. What a difference the number one makes.

For DeMar DeRozan, that last scenario mentioned above is the most prominent of them all as he heads into the 2014-15 NBA season. A mere one point was what separated him and the Toronto Raptors from the glory of the second round, a destination T-Dot has been exiled from since the 2000-01 season.

Despite the loss in the final seconds of last season’s first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets, DeRozan sure had a hell of a run in his fifth year as a pro basketball player that cannot be undermined by any means. The Compton native averaged career-best numbers across the board, including 22.7 points per game, good for ninth in the L, along with 4.3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.1 steals. Not to mention, he recorded 3,017 minutes, the third highest total number of minutes played last year behind only Kevin Durant and Monta Ellis.

Before wrapping up the first half of the 2013-14 season, DeRozan set two career-highs. The first, a stellar 40-point game in a win over the Dallas Mavericks in late January. The second, 12 assists in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in early February.

After he made the trip down to New Orleans to play in his first All-Star Game, DeRozan continued leading his Toronto Raptors to victories, and the team eventually secured the top spot in the Atlantic Division and the third seed in the East with 48 wins, not caring for a second whose predictions they proved wrong along the way.

Next came the grueling series versus the Nets, which ended with that one-point loss to conclude DeRozan’s first-ever Playoffs series. A heartbreaking result, no doubt. But more than that, it was a motivation and a learning experience DeMar carries with him into this new season. An emotional moment serving as a reminder to do whatever he can to avoid another similar result.

Following his breakout season last year, a successful Gold medal run with Team USA in Spain this summer during the Basketball World Cup, and consistent workouts sometimes with and sometimes without teammate Terrence Ross, we placed DeMar DeRozan at No. 30 in the #SLAMTop50, which is also his debut on this list of definitive rankings.

Although he said he doesn’t give heed to others’ expectations at Media Day earlier this week, I’m gonna go ahead and list mine for the guy who shares my birthday here anyway. Ready, DeMar?

I expect a number of high-flying dunks that’ll take me back to your gravity-defying shows of athleticism in Dunk Contests of All-Star Weekends past. I expect more career-high nights in the form of 40-point games here or there and some sweet dishin’ to your teammates. I expect a second appearance at the All-Star Game, which will come at the perfect halfway mark of the season, giving you a well-deserved break and some time to kick back in New York City. I expect you to take the Toronto Raptors to another Playoffs berth, with help from guys like Kyle Lowry who is an integral part of the North’s chemistry and the added bench support from new additions like Lou Williams. I also expect some more tweets from you, because I’m a Twitter gal.

Oh, and this last one is for Drake I guess, but yeah, I expect your name to be announced like this again (at the 1:04 mark below):

Of course, DeMar DeRozan is in no way playing to meet my or anyone else’s expectations. He’ll just step on to the court and do what he does night in and night out—you know—be that guy who makes the rest of us down in The States pay attention to the dudes in The North for yet another NBA season.

Underrated and overlooked were synonymous with Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry. The opportune word is “were,” as Lowry has shed those labels by establishing himself as one of the elite point guards in the NBA. But don’t think he’ll settle after signing a four-year, $48 million contract this summer. Cracking the #SLAMTop50 for the first time in his eight-year career is just the start of what promises to be a big 2014-15 campaign for Lowry.

As Lowry told Yahoo back in March, he finally has found solid footing in the League: “My first couple years in the NBA, my fear was that I was going to go to the D-League—and maybe never get back to the NBA. You get a few chances, and then you’re done. Then you’re just a label, never to be a frontline guy. I did not want to be a backup in this League. I wasn’t going to settle for it, and I think it rubbed people the wrong way. I wanted the label of a guy who’s a winner. That’s the most important label you can have in this League.”

When you’re able to shake off unending trade rumors and questions about your ability to propel your team into the Playoffs, it’s pretty safe to say that Lowry is now seen as a winner. With fresh contracts from the Raptors and adidas, Lowry understands that these rewards are based on his team’s success. As he told SLAM this past summer, “This is a team game, and if you help your team do good, you get a chance to do good individually by joining people on good teams. My personal goal and our team goal is becoming the best we can possibly be.”

Lowry will have plenty of motivation this season as he can use his snubs from last year’s All-Star and All-NBA teams to push him. Although these are all individual goals, Lowry’s selfless play and leadership is what inspires his teammates. There is no drama coming from Lowry in Toronto. He is all business and his teammates follow his lead.

Reserve guard, Greivis Vasquez, explained to Grantland, why the Raptors look up to Lowry: “He’s always the first guy in the locker room and the last guy out. That’s professionalism. When I have my own team to run someday, I’m going to have flashbacks to all the winning plays he made here.”

Lowry is a jack of all trades for the Raptors, as he led Toronto to its first post-season appearance since 2008 and a franchise-record 48 victories, while averaging career-highs in points (17.9 ppg), assists (7.4 apg) and three-point percentage (38.3 percent). Lowry also learned to not gamble for steals on defense, consequently finishing among the League leaders in charges drawn.

This was all a long time coming for everyone who has known Lowry. As the since retired NBA great Chauncey Billups said last year, “Kyle has the perfect combination. And now he’s sharpened it.”

This all-around game is what makes Lowry one of the best guards in the League, as reserve Raptors forward Patrick Patterson explained to SBNation last season, “He always accepts the challenge and he’s just an active motor out there. He doesn’t stop, he never gets tired, he’s always trying to do the right thing for everybody and, most importantly, he can score. So you have to respect his scoring ability but also his ability to pass the ball.”

As great as Lowry’s season was last year, it ended in disappointing fashion. Not only did the Raptors lose in the closing seconds of a Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets, the game ended with Nets forward, Paul Pierce, blocking Lowry on a potential game-winning shot.

If the Raptors could do it again, they would make a similar play call as Lowry is their guy. “We need an answer, we call Kyle Lowry,” reserve center Chuck Hayes said last season. “Kyle will figure it out.”

Hayes is right. If Lowry’s career has shown us anything, it’s that he will figure it out. He figured out how to comfortably sit among the game’s Top 50 players—what else will he figure out in the 2014-15 NBA season?

Drake was leaving the L.A. premiere of LeBron’s new TV show “Survivor’s Remorse” (Bron’s one of the producers), when we asked if he’d ever team up with James, who recently released his very first rap single.

Drizzy didn’t exactly say “no” … and seemed pretty open to bringing James onto a track.

“You always ask for a team to be your team, right?” he said. “Every single night, that team and your teammates are like, All right, you know you need to bring it for everybody else. And if you don’t bring it, they ain’t bringing it. So when you’re the leader, you’ve got to [be] mentally focused every night. Luckily, my backcourt mate [DeMar DeRozan], we get along. I say we’re co-leaders and we understand [that] sometimes, things aren’t going to go the right way … Every single night, we’re playing for each other.”

“I didn’t want to get traded,” Lowry said. “I knew [Toronto was] trying to get Steve Nash. This is what they said: They wanted Steve Nash to be the point guard for two years and then me learn behind Nash and to get paid and be the starter after Steve called it a career. I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be a backup. You’re not trading for me to be a backup.’ They did the trade anyway, but they didn’t get Steve.”

Even with the failed pursuit of Nash — who landed with the Lakers — Toronto had another entrenched starter in Jose Calderon. “Jose is a great player and [an even] better person, but I felt we needed a so-called ‘point guard of the future’ and a player the team could build an identity around,” wrote Bryan Colangelo, Toronto’s general manager at the time, in a recent email. “This is not a knock on Jose, but Kyle was definitely that guy. […] I truly believed we would be much better with him running the team‎ so a mid-to-late 1st was not a high price. ‎Turns out I was only close to right — number 12 was less than ‘mid’ ‎and my timing was a year off as far as team performance.”

Ujiri highlights Luol Deng’s numerous contributions as an African basketball star, and Ujiri hopes that Ferry can learn more about his beloved continent and its people, and calls for forgiveness. Below is a snippet of the piece:

I spoke to Danny myself about this. He started off by apologizing to Luol. He apologized to me and apologized for any insult he’d offered to African people in general. He explained the incident as best he could to me. There are some things about that conversation I would like to keep between the two of us, but I came away feeling like I’d understood what he had to say.

I have no idea what is happening in the Atlanta Hawks organization, but I do know how the scouting world works. We all have different ways of sharing information about players and different vocabularies to do so. It crossed a line here. […] That said, we are all human. We are all vulnerable. We all make mistakes. […] You discover a person’s true character in their ability to learn from and then move on from those mistakes. One of the truly important things we must learn is how to forgive.

Danny’s mistake will remain tied to him for a long time. What he’s said can’t be unsaid, but we must measure his heart. If he has made an honest, isolated error, we should forgive and move on. […] I spoke to Luol on Thursday morning. The first thing he said to me was, “We have to figure out a way to make sure this doesn’t hurt other African players.”

Billups, who played for seven teams and won the 2004 NBA Finals MVP with the Detroit Pistons, is at peace with career and looks forward to taking the next step.

Billups has expressed an interest in working in an NBA front-office, and continues to manage a fleet of businesses. Per Yahoo! Sports:

Billups became an unrestricted free agent when the Pistons declined the second and final year of a contract option that would have paid him $2.5 million next season. The five-time All-Star had interest in playing with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after a workout this offseason and said he had “a couple of opportunities to play” if he wanted to continue. But after missing 185 games the past three seasons, Billups decided it was time to retire a little more than two weeks before his 38th birthday.

“It’s just time. I know when it’s time,” Billups said. “My mind and my desire is still strong. I just can’t ignore the fact that I haven’t been healthy for three years. I can try again and get to a point where I think I can go, but I just can’t sustain. Me not being able to play the way that I can play, that’s when you kind of know it’s that time. […] It’s just time. I’m happy, excited. The game was very, very good to me. I felt like I was equally as good to the game the way I played it and the way I respected it and the way I carried myself through the process.”

Billups said the “best memories” of his career were with the Pistons. […] “Before that, my career was in jeopardy in a few different stages,” Billups said. “I persevered, sustained and continued to work hard, and finally got my opportunity in Detroit, and I never turned back from that point. That’s what made it so sweet to me to win a championship after what I went through. I had to scrap and fight to get through it and to reach the pinnacle made it even sweeter. Winning the championship was the ultimate. I never set out to win the [Finals] MVP. Winning the championship was enough.”

Williams claims he became a Toronto Raptors fan even before the swap, and says he’s excited about joining a franchise that values him. From the team website (and SLAM homie Holly MacKenzie):

“I think one of the best benefits of it is being in a position where you feel wanted,” Williams said. “When they traded for me and had the conversation, they want me here. It wasn’t a money thing. It wasn’t just something to do. They felt they had a void they needed to fill coming off the bench and I’m excited to help. I feel wanted. I feel like I have a responsibility with this basketball team and that’s the best way I can operate.”

No-nonsense and to-the-point, Williams was impressed as much by the passion shown by the Raptors front office as he was by the team’s play during that series against the Nets. Laughing as he thought back to Toronto’s Game 1 experience, he couldn’t resist sharing a moment that endeared him to his current general manager, Masai Ujiri, even if it wasn’t a popular move with the league’s head office.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I was really excited about the message Masai sent out,” he said. “I was like, ‘That’s pretty dope.’ For once, someone actually spoke their mind. That was interesting to me. Someone actually said, ‘I’m concerned with our team, our organization. I want us to win, I don’t care about anyone else.’ I really liked that message.”

Stiemsma spent last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, and has also hooped for Minny and Boston. From the press release:

Stiemsma, 6-foot-11, 260 pounds, averaged 2.9 points with career bests of 4.1 rebounds and 18.3 minutes in 55 games (20 starts) last season with New Orleans.

He scored in double figures four times, including a season-high 12 points January 3 at Boston. He also recorded back-to-back double-digit rebound totals with 11 caroms at Cleveland on January 28 and a career-best 12 boards January 29 at Minnesota. […] He owns career averages of 3.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 16.0 minutes in 186 NBA games (42 starts).

Toronto Raptors All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan finished with a game-high 13 points, along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds as the U.S. Men’s National Team dominated the Dominican Republic in a 43-point rout.

The league recently fined the team after Drake, a popular Toronto rapper, let Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant know he was wanted in Canada during a concert that the Thunder star, who becomes a free agent in 2016, attended earlier this month.

“As the Raptors’ global ambassador, Drake must follow our anti-tampering rules,” Tim Frank, the league’s senior vice-president of basketball communications, said in an email to The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

“At no point did we suggest his title be removed but we were clear that as long as he acted as a representative of the team, he is subject to the league’s rules.”

The Raptors evidently chose the latter, since they hope Drake’s ability to help draw big-time talent (such ask Kevin Durant) north of the American border will be worth much more than that piddling sum. Per the Globe and Mail (via Deadspin):

Drake draws no salary. When the Raptors gave out Drake-branded OVO T-shirts at a game in January, they were purchased at cost. Drake didn’t make a nickel of profit from them. […] Everyone involved has been at pains not to cross that line, because they understand how this looks. Without ever saying the words, they also understand that it’s Drake’s job to recruit players.

That’s everyone’s job in the NBA – the owners, managers, coaches, other players, any random fan who runs into Kevin Love at an airport. There is a framework in place that controls how that happens. It isn’t the CBA. It’s having the good sense never to do it in public, or in indictable phrases.

This has risen beyond the level of a spat. It’s an executive knife fight. Raptors officials would not comment on the Drake versus NBA situation. They are plainly loath to make their secret war public. […] They also refused to address a key detail – that the NBA offered to drop the tampering fine if the team agreed to strip Drake of his title. The Raptors apparently refused.

Drake is a “global ambassador” for Canada’s NBA club. He was performing at a concert that Durant was attending last week in Toronto when he shouted to the crowd to show the league’s MVP what it would be like if he came to play for the Raptors, causing a loud ovation.

An NBA spokesman confirmed the fine, which ESPN.com reported Monday was for $25,000.

Durant can become a free agent after the 2015-16 season. He has spent his entire career with the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise.

Rafael Araujo has been lampooned in many basketball circles, but there is likely only one person who’s scored off him in a song lyric.

The draft bust of all Toronto Raptors draft busts—eighth overall in 2004; 139 career NBA games—is just one of a heavy handful of basketball stars to be name-dropped in song by London, Ontario-raised rapper Shad, the Canadian emcee whose love of hoops is regularly woven into lyrics that have garnered him a growing following that considers him the real face of up-north hip hop.

“When I’m writing I repeatedly edit words and rework tracks/I’ll admit I’m like the Raptors, I got weak first drafts/So when I’m dropping a new flow/It’s probably not all that solid at first post/You might call it Araujo.” — “Compromise”

Shad, who holds two degrees, including a Masters from Burnaby, B.C.’s Simon Fraser University, is the rapper Canadians really want you to know about. A high school baller who knew early on there were pursuits in life for which he was better suited, Shad has been sprinkling his second love in his lyrics since he first started making records in 2005 when he debuted with his self-made When This Is Over.

In “Real Game”, Shad is heard going back and forth with B. Green in the context of two friends—one black, one white—riffing on the races of each other’s hoops heroes. From McHale versus Worthy, to Stockton and Payton. Shad quips: “There they go again/Whenever I’m talking ball with a white friend/he gotta pipe in/Talking ’bout, “I miss how they used to play in Cousy’s day.”

One of Shad’s most recent offerings co-opts the beat from Drake’s “Draft Day” and laces it with roundball references from Ed O’Bannon to Andrew Wiggins, and even lands a well-aimed shot directly at the hypocrisy of the NCAA.

Shad recently agreed to talk hoops with SLAM, with his lyrical concoctions as the jump off. (This interview took place prior to the NBA Draft—Ed.)

SLAM: Have you wanted to work Andrew Wiggins in to a lyric for a bit?

“Bringing skills like Wiggins to the Fieldhouse/Catch him when his frame fills out.” — “MGD” (Draft Day Dub)

Shad: I think it’s been on my mind for a while, but Wiggins isn’t the best rhyming word. It’s exciting to have a prospect like that, especially being Canadian.

SLAM: What did you make of his year at Kansas?

Shad: Yeah, it’s kind of hard to tell. I think it was a little bit underwhelming for everybody, but…I think scouts are still pretty high on him even if [Jabari] Parker maybe had a bit of a better year. It was kind of disappointing seeing a lot of those freshmen not go further in the Tournament. I’m still pretty hot on him. When he puts some meat on to handle the banging in the NBA, I think he’ll be great.

SLAM: If you were a GM, would you have grabbed him at No. 1?

Shad: I would. I think he has the most upside. It depends on what you need, but I think he has the most upside, for sure.

SLAM: What’s your stance on the paying college kids debate?

“If Coach K is getting millions, then shoot/then the kids should be getting millions to hoop/You know that’s generating millions for Duke, right?/Too bad I’m still in the booth/I’d be in courtrooms appealing, getting deals for the youth.” — “MGD” (Draft Day Dub)

Shad: It’s just part of a much bigger problem. Especially since a lot of these guys aren’t even graduating, it really is just a minor-league sport with big money kind of thing. It’s just something that needs to be addressed. It’s just pretty blatant at this point. How much the NCAA is making and how much these schools are making and a lot of the kids aren’t really getting an education.

I think it’s a little bit silly, you know? Wiggins is going to play in the NBA, he’s a special basketball player. Having an education is great and it’s well-rounded, but especially when you get into the licensing rights and the long-term residual incomes, it’s just not a fair deal.

Shad: I’d go Sabonis. To me he’s the greatest talent ever from Europe. But now you’ve got guys like Tony Parker and all sorts of incredible players, but yeah, I still think you go Sabonis No. 1. I always thought his game was so hilarious, too, because he was such an oddball in the NBA.

His skill set and size was just kind of insane. It was pretty amazing to watch him at 35, with his knees completely gone, still being able to be one of the better centers in the League. He was such an interesting player to watch with his passing skills and the way he played the game. It was so different from the NBA style, but he could really do it.

SLAM: What are you going for in this line?

“They say LeBron should have never left his hometown/I say slow down, we’re talkin’ about draft picks/Reporters and lawyers still talkin’ about practice/Meanwhile, we’re just trying to keep out of caskets.” — from Mr. J. Medeiros’ “Pale Blue Dot”

Shad: I think what I was saying with that line is we’re talking about sports when there’s bigger things going on in the world. Like [Kevin Durant] said in his MVP speech, sports is a great platform for inspiring people. I think that’s a great perspective to have and there’s so much good there, but our attention can be on the wrong things. Even in sports, our attention can be on the wrong things like Allen Iverson’s just trying to point out that.

Shad: I think you’ve gotta go with MJ, Bird and either Miller or Kobe. I kinda go on the theme of who I would most fear when they had the ball and I think those are the guys. Those are the guys when they had the ball in the fourth quarter, if they got a look it was going down.

Shad: I wasn’t a big Sonics fan, but at that time I was probably cheering for the Bulls. I like pulling out some of the more obscure references.

SLAM: Do you have faith the NBA will return to the northwest again?

Shad: I really hope so. I think there’s a fanbase there and, watching these Playoffs, fans in Vancouver and Seattle watching their old teams play some pretty exciting ball has got to be pretty disappointing.

SLAM: Can DeMar be The Guy for Toronto?

“This is rap for the Raps fans/DeRozan on the break over breaks.” — from Lushlife’s “Gymnopedie 1.2″

Shad: It looked like [Kyle] Lowry became that guy. I don’t know. Lowry might kind of bring that culture, the way he’s tough and forces the issue and kind of forces the ball down the throat of the defense. That might rub off on DeMar, but it was cool to see Lowry step into that role. I think it comes down to who’s going to want the ball in those moments and be the guy.

Shad: I think he’s a problem for defenses, but he’s also problematic on defense. He’s a cool player. He’s very interesting. I like his style, very unique. That whole Rockets team maybe relied too much on having Dwight back there but, yeah, they’re not the toughest defensive team.

Shad: I think the big thing with the ’92 team is Bird was not what he used to be. I think if you had Bird at full strength, I think you’d give the edge to the ’92 team at that point. Without Bird at full strength, I don’t know, it becomes tough. The original Dream Team would definitely have it in the frontcourt, but the backcourt and the wings is pretty strong now.

SLAM: You believing the hype that Canada can medal in one of the next couple of Olympic cycles?

Shad: I think we have the talent, for sure but other countries are also stepping up. I think with Wiggins, Thompson, I think we’ve got a talented team. We have to stick together a bit longer. Some of the other countries have had their roster and guys playing together for a long time and I think that might be a bigger obstacle at this point.

It’s fun to be able to turn on March Madness—which I would watch anyways—and not only see Canadians on the rosters, but be stars. That’s a lot of fun. Very exciting.

Shad had a four-stop US mini-tour in that hit Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has not announced any further American dates, but will play Victoria and Squamish, B.C., as well as Kingston, Ontario, as part of his tour of summer music festivals. He was also announced as one of the acts that will perform in the concert that will open the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg in September. Find out more on his website.

David Larkins is a Winnipeg-based writer who has covered news, sports and entertainment in Canada for radio and print for two decades. He’s a die-hard Lakers fan and a former member of the official Magic Johnson fan club, who grew up on the voices of Dick Stockton and Tommy Heinsohn.

Didn’t Kyle Lowry just sign a very lucrative extension with the Raptors?

This is what I wondered as I watched the intense point guard do work in the college counselor pick up games at adidas Nations this past weekend. Lowry worked the floor as if he was trying to get the Raptors into the Playoffs—talking shit, shaking down refs, hustling for more time on the clock via the scorekeeper—all while willing his team to victory. I guess this is who Kyle Lowry is.

Fresh off of signing a four-year contract with Toronto that will pay him $12 million per season, the 28-year-old Lowry is showing no signs of change despite his payday that followed a season averaging 17.9 points and 7.4 assists per game. Prior to his appearance at Nations, Lowry inked a deal with adidas, returning to the brand after a short absence. Before he took the floor, he gave SLAM a few minutes of his time.

SLAM: Congrats on rejoining the adidas family. Why was this the right decision for you?

Kyle Lowry: I’m excited to be back. I was with the brand for the first three years of my career and then had an opportunity to go somewhere else, but I found that there is nothing like adidas.

SLAM: It’s been quite the summer for you: A new deal with the Raptors and this deal with the Three Stripes.

KL: It has. Two big deals in one summer! It’s really wild, but when you’re on a team that wins, you take advantage of the fact that more opportunities come to you. This is a team game, and if you help your team do good, you get a chance to do good individually by joining people on good teams.

SLAM: What is your goal when you’re with basketball youth?

KL: Just to be around and to watch them play, and if there is something I can show them or tell them, I will.

SLAM: How much have these high school tourneys changed since you were on the other side of this?

KL: It’s amazing. This used to be just for superstar kids or American kids, and now it’s transferred to become more international. You have more media here now and the attention is on another level too. The exposure is there as well, with GMs here and coaches. Nations is a fantastic opportunity for kids to grow and they get a chance to see all walks of life when they’re here.

SLAM: It was amazing to see all the support the Raptors received from the fans this year. The game seems to really be growing in Canada.

KL: It is. Canada has had No. 1 picks in the NBA back-to-back now, and you have guys like Tristan Thompson and other guys that are going to be good. This is the support that comes when you win games and people respect how hard you play, and respect the effort you put out there every time you touch the floor. It brings everyone together. I’m glad the country had a chance to support us and a chance to see us play hard for them.

SLAM: What is it like being a professional and competing in the sport you love, while living in another country?

KL: It’s very different because it’s not home. But the Raptors organization does a great job trying to give us that home feeling as much as possible. It’s good, man. It’s been interesting. It’s a completely different walk of life. You have to understand that you’re not just playing for a city, you’re playing for a country with support from Halifax to Vancouver to Calgary—all those places and it’s really cool.

SLAM: What is going on with all this Canadian talent? There are so many great players coming from up North. How did this happen?

KL: It’s funny that you say that, because all those kids will tell you it was Vince Carter [laughs]. Maybe 20 years from now, kids up there might say I watched Kyle Lowry play. It’s such an experience every time you take the floor because you really don’t know who is watching and might be out there mimicking their game around you. You might have a guy in section 320 who has never seen you play, and this might be their only chance, so you want to give that person a good show. I think that is what Vince did for those kids.

SLAM: What’s next for the Raptors?

KL: My personal goal and our team goal is becoming the best we can possibly be. Hopefully we can take it to the next level. We made it to the first round of the playoffs this year and now we have to make sure that we play a lot longer than we did last year.

His fifth annual (OVO Fest) concert at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre drew a number of celebrity athletes including Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma Thunder superstar who will be a free agent in the summer of 2016.

“My brother Kevin Durant was kind enough to come to the show tonight and watch us,’’ Drake told screaming fans. “I just want him to see what would happen if he were to come play in Toronto.”

The Raptors are rumoured to be planning for enough salary cap room in 2016 to make a run at Durant, who grew up a Raptors fan because of Vince Carter.

The latest member of team adidas is Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, a deal following his stellar season in the North that led his team to its first Playoffs berth in half a decade. More from our friends at adidas:

“adidas today announced a partnership with Toronto Raptors star point guard Kyle Lowry. The eight-season NBA veteran is coming off of a career-best season in which he averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game while leading his team to its first playoff berth in five seasons.

‘I’m really excited to continue my career with adidas and join a brand that I think compliments my aggressive playing style and future goals,’ Lowry said.

The 6-foot Philadelphia native is known throughout the league as a fearless multifaceted offensive player, disruptive defender and superior rebounder at the point guard position.

‘Kyle is a great addition to our brand and will complement our growing family of elite basketball athletes, adding to our brand’s momentum,’ said Chris Grancio, General Manager of adidas Global Basketball. ‘He is a seasoned veteran surrounded by a young and improving Toronto lineup that is on the rise under his leadership.'”

Several NBA stars, including James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard, were scheduled to participate in promotional appearances in Manila this week, and the NBA has told its Players Association that the event organizers failed to gain league approval, sources said.

There were scheduled to be two days of exhibition events on Tuesday and Wednesday in Manila, but news reports out of Manila suggest that those events were canceled and ticket refunds were given to fans.

The NBA warned against violations that included “some kind of exhibition of basketball skills,” including shooting games and dunk contests, an NBPA memo said. […] In the memo, the Players Association informed player agents and players that the NBA “has taken the position that any such exhibition or competition is unallowable and is not approved for player participation under the [collective bargaining agreement], regardless of whether it is incorporated into a ‘clinic’ or other ‘benign-sounding activity.'”

Kevin Durant highlights the star-studded 19-man roster of hopefuls for the USA Basketball training camp in Las Vegas this summer, from which the 2014 USA World Cup Team will be selected. From the press release:

Added to the 2014-16 USA National Team roster and participating in the July-28-Aug. 1 USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas, Nevada, are NBA standouts DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors) and Chandler Parsons (Dallas Mavericks).

There’s 30 minutes remaining before the final regular-season game in Dallas, and the layup line has turned into an impromptu one-man dunk clinic. This is to be expected when there’s a former Dunk Contest champion in the house, even if he only ever won one, and has long since left the Eastern Conference team he won it with far behind. It’s still what he’s best known for. He makes each dunk look effortless, catching the ball way above the rim before throwing it down with casual authority. Then, as the buzzer sounds, Gerald Green jogs to the visitors’ bench.

On the home end, 37-year-old Vince Carter sticks to jumpers, high-arcing ones with picture-perfect backspin. He engages 5-11 rookie Shane Larkin in a bit of one-on-one and tries a couple of effortless 40-footers from the AIRLINES in “American Airlines” on the right side by the scorer’s table. No good. As a video promo airs that pushes him for Sixth Man of the Year—complete with #VInceforVI hashtag—he’s busy shooting a corner fallaway. It doesn’t appear that he’s paying attention.

But he did see Green’s aerial display. “Easy stuff. Easy,” he says after the game. “I remember when—I was like, ah fuck, I remember I could do that. Now it’s just like, Yeah buddy, take care of your body. Take care of your body.”

The thing is, Carter can still do that, just not as often as he used to. “It’s actually amazing how athletic he still is for 37,” says Dirk Nowitzki. “Once in a while he drives in there and just hammers on somebody.” Carter agrees with his teammate’s assessment but acknowledges he has different priorities now, ones that didn’t concern him a decade ago. “Now I just think let me get it in and get back [on defense]. Because it’s not even the going up, it’s coming down now. That’s the problem.”

***

When Vince Carter talks about his own past, there’s almost a sense of wonder in his voice, as if he’s talking about a different person entirely. And in a way he is. The 37-year-old Carter is very different from the 22-year-old rookie who dropped 22 in just his third game and tried to dunk on every big in the League en route to a Rookie of the Year season with the Toronto Raptors. He played in all 50 games of that lockout-shortened season, starting 49, and put the fear of being on the wrong side of a SportsCenter highlight in everyone he faced. And, for a League that had once again gone Jordan-less, there was another heir apparent.

It’s hard to describe exactly what watching Carter in his prime was like. For those of us who grew up watching Jordan and Dominique Wilkins destroy opposing defenses it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar, but there was something more. Carter’s dunks seemed to shift into slow motion even as they were happening, that half-beat of pause making the dunk itself that much more powerful. He flew like Jordan and crushed like Dominique or Shawn Kemp, the ball going through the hoop so hard it would hit the floor long before he did. He’d break out contest-worthy dunks in games—windmills, double-clutch reverses, 360s the wrong way. And once he did find himself in a Dunk Contest, well…let him tell it.

“I was looking forward to that, that was my moment,” he says. “I wanted to—I used to watch it, tape the dunk contest, just study it. They didn’t even have to ask me, I was gonna ask them if I could be in the Dunk Contest for one. I was excited about the All-Star Game on Sunday, but I thought, mmmm, Saturday baby. I was just like, I can’t wait. I’m ready. I wanna show the world what I can do. Yeah, people think they know, you’ve seen some stuff, but…” He pauses. “It’s funny, all of the dunks that I thought I was gonna do that night I didn’t do. I didn’t think I was gonna win.”

Excuse me? Did you just say…

“Yeah, I didn’t do it. I made that stuff up. The only dunk that I was gonna do was the 180 under the basket. The 360 windmill? I was barely making that dunk when I was trying it, so I was like, there’s no way I’m gonna do this. But when I got out there in that layup line, and see all the people—friends and teammates, Antawn [Jamison] my former college teammate, my former roommate and all that stuff, celebrities and just the buzz in there for it, and I just feel like in the layup line I was just puttin’ it in easy and I was like, those dunks might not work, let me just dribble back. I wasn’t sure [about the 360 windmill], and then I was like, Well, if I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do that on my first dunk so at least if I miss I’m gonna mess up on my first one but hopefully everybody else doesn’t do too great and I have a chance to catch up on my second dunk, maybe third dunk. And when I took off, it felt like—I just powered up, I don’t know, but when I took off, I was like, Oh man, it’s over for these people.”

Understand, while today’s Dunk Contests may have devolved into prop-filled spectacle, in 2000 they were about sheer athleticism. And in that particular contest, guys were bringing it—from Carter’s Toronto teammate Tracy McGrady to Rockets rookie guard Steve Francis, whose career may have reached both its figurative and literal apex that night. It didn’t matter.

“Once I got that first one, I was just in another zone,” Carter says. “I was just like, If someone’s gonna beat me tonight, you’d better come up with somethin’. Because after that [first dunk] I was just sitting there thinking about some stuff that I could do. Like the arm in the rim stuff, I had never done that in my life. I thought about that right then and was like, Well, I’ma try the arm in the rim. That’s how good I was feeling.”

It was plenty good enough. Carter signaled it was over walking back from his first attempt, while Kenny Smith hysterically declared the same thing on TV. Carter would wind up with perfect 50s on three separate dunks, the first to do so since Jordan in ’88. It wasn’t absolute perfection, but it was close enough to where no one could really tell the difference.

I was in the building with current Ed. Ben Osborne, and trust me, the excitement was palpable.

The afterglow lasted surprisingly long. In fact, Carter’s high-wire act didn’t actually peak until that summer, at the Sydney Olympics, where an ill-advised pass turned a potential France fast break into one of the most-watched videos of all time. Carter picked the ball off in the backcourt, took two dribbles with his left, switched the ball to his right and went right at 7-2 French center Frederic Weis, who cringed in anticipation of a blow that never came.

“I never, I never, ever ever imagined jumping over a player in my life,” Carter says. “I didn’t even know it until after the game. I saw it on video.”

The following season may have been Carter’s best. He was named a starter on the All-Star team again, and although he chose not to defend his Dunk Contest crown, he still managed to throw down the defining dunk of the weekend in Sunday’s game. Finally extricated from the Puma deal he signed as a rookie, VC did it all in his signature Nikes, whose brand-new Shox he had debuted in the Olympics. He averaged a career-high 27.6 ppg, along with 3.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds, and led the Raptors to 47 wins, a single-season total they wouldn’t top until 2014. And while he had impressive games in the regular season—48 points on the Bucks, 45 on the Pacers, 46 on the Suns—he’d save his best for the Playoffs.

That was the year the young Raptors finally grew up. They won their first-ever Playoff series, beating the New York Knicks—who were just two seasons removed from their own Finals trip and had home-court advantage—in five games, before moving on to face the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. Led by MVP Allen Iverson, the Sixers were a blue-collar team assembled as complementary pieces around their unquestioned leader. Fans anticipated a showdown between Iverson and Carter, and they wouldn’t be disappointed.

In the very first game, the Raptors wrested the Sixers’ hard-earned home-court advantage away with a three-point win in Philadelphia, with Carter scoring 35 to Iverson’s 36. The Sixers—and Iverson—responded with a Game 2 victory, spearheaded by Iverson’s 54 points. Fortunately, the series was moving back to Canada.

Game 3 was probably the pinnacle of NBA basketball in Toronto, at least so far. It’s easy to forget now, with Carter long gone and even the mention of his name still drawing the ire of select Raptor fans. But if it wasn’t for Carter’s high-flying game and his global popularity—he was one of only three players, along with Jordan and Julius Erving, to be the leading All-Star vote getter three times—maybe the Raptors are playing their home games in Las Vegas or Oklahoma City now.

Instead, they’re still in the (since renamed) Air Canada Centre, the home of Game 3. And in front of his adoring home fans, Carter played the game of his life, scoring 50 points of his own and leading the Raptors to a dominating 24-point win. The tug-of-war continued. Iverson scored 50-plus again in a Game 5 Sixers blowout, putting the Raptors on the brink of elimination. But Carter responded again, scoring 39 in Game 6 as Iverson struggled, scoring 20 points but shooting just 6-24. This set up Game 7 back in Philadelphia. There was just one problem.

Carter, who left the University of North Carolina following his junior season, had finally earned enough credits to graduate, and his commencement was on the morning of Game 7. He chose to attend, knowing he could easily make it back for the 5:30 p.m. tip. Given that athletes are often excoriated for their topsy-turvy priorities, this should have been seen as a heroic moment, a superstar choosing to show what was truly important. It wasn’t.

The game itself was a slugfest. Neither team broke 90, only the Sixers managed to score more than 25 points in a single quarter, exploding to a 31-21 lead in the first. But behind Carter and Antonio Davis, the Raptors fought all the way back, holding the Sixers under 20 in each of the remaining three quarters. With two seconds remaining, Toronto had the ball out of bounds, trailing by one. Carter fought free to receive the pass, put up a long two from the left wing…and missed. The Sixers moved on to the conference finals; the Raptors went home.

Carter would stay in the purple and red for three more seasons, but that shot was the beginning of the end. He was not only betrayed by fans and media, who used the missed shot to question his decision to attend graduation, but by his body, which was finally beginning to break down. After missing just seven games over his first three seasons, he missed 22 in his fourth, then 39 in his fifth. There were times when he must have felt like the oldest 26-year-old on the planet. He adjusted his game to ease some of the impact, but that decision wasn’t lauded either. “I felt like I was always a pretty good shooter,” he says, “but everybody wanted to see me dunk the basketball.”

Traded to the Nets early in the 2004-05 season, he found some new life playing alongside Jason Kidd, and Nets PA announcer Gary Sussman found a new catchphrase in “DID YOU SEE…VC!” But these were the post-Finals, pre-Brooklyn Nets, and even as Carter rebounded to play 79 games in his first full season, averaging nearly 25 points and leading the Nets to a 49-win season and the conference semis, he still had a tendency to shoot rainbow threes instead of charging hard to the rim and emasculating shotblockers. It only made the dunks he did throw down—like one that utterly destroyed Alonzo Mourning in front of his home Miami crowd early in that 2005-06 season—all the more poignant. Why couldn’t he do that all the time?

Regardless, Carter was still a star, posting some of the best games of his career, including an absolutely absurd 46-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in 2007 (in an overtime game where Kidd posted a triple-double of his own). He also drew further ire from Toronto fans in 2008, as he responded to their boos with a three-pointer to send the game to overtime and a game-winning reverse alley-oop in the extra session. He’d finish with 39 points. But it appeared his popularity at least was waning. His eight straight All-Star selections ended in 2007. And upon being traded from the Nets to the Magic in 2009, he was clearly entering the second-star stage of his career.

Things went downhill rapidly from there. He had a 46-point game in Orlando and served as an able lieutenant to Dwight Howard. But he only lasted a year there, before being dealt once again, this time to the post-D’Antoni Phoenix Suns. He looked old and played older, and in 2011 the Suns bought Carter out of the final year of his contract, paying him $4 million to just go away. For all intents and purposes, his career looked to be reaching its end. At 34, Vince Carter was done.

Or maybe he wasn’t.

***

Carter ended his third year in Dallas this May in a seven-game first-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs, a series in which he dropped 28 points—on the road, no less—in a Game 5 loss. He played out his initial three-year contract and seems set to receive another. “I think he has at least two or three years if he wants it,” says Mavs teammate Brandan Wright. “He could easily play ’til 40.”

Even if Carter retires tomorrow, he’s long since silenced the naysayers and accomplished more than most. He’s played in more NBA games than Jordan or Chamberlain and passed Adrian Dantley to become one of the top 25 leading scorers in NBA history. (He’ll have to do it all over again next year, unfortunately, as LeBron James is just 20 points behind.)

But most of all, Vince Carter is content, happily discussing his past in a way that wouldn’t have been possible 10 years earlier. There’s even a tiny Lego figure in a purple Raptors No. 15 uniform above his locker. He’s somewhat noncommittal about his legacy—“I hope one day that it happens, Hall of Fame, jersey retirement. I’m just gonna keep doin’ what I’m doin’, and hopefully it’s clear-cut when it’s time”—but he’s absolute in his desire to keep playing. Well, somewhere anyway. Told that the 26-year-old Wright hopes to have an equally long career, Carter smiles.

“I won’t be playing [in the NBA],” he laughs. “I’ll be playing in a men’s league somewhere, best believe that. I know I won’t be able to sit still. I won’t be able to play in the big leagues, but I’ll be in somebody’s league tryin’ to drop 30 every night.”

Having led the Raptors back into the postseason for the first time in five seasons, Lowry earned himself a four-year, $48 million deal (the fourth year is a player option.)

Per Yahoo!:

“Toronto is just the right place for me,” Lowry said.

Securing Lowry, a cornerstone of the Raptors revival, had been general manager Masai Ujiri’s No. 1 priority in the offseason, and stands as a coup for a franchise that had struggled in years past to get frontline NBA players to commit long-term.

Lowry stands to become an even more popular and marketable figure in Toronto with his decision to return to the team.

Kyle Lowry, 28, is coming off the best season of his eight-year NBA career, posting averages of 17.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.